Follow the Fated, Live by Destiny
by 694377
Summary: During a usual boring day at Castle Baron, King Cecil Harvey receives news that 3 men have been found in the castle - Cloud Strife, Squall Leonhart, & Zidane Tribal. As old heroes, foes, and worlds return, what will be waiting at the end of their journey?
1. Prologue

A radiant sun rose up through a hole in the sky above Castle Baron, shining its eternal rays of light across the land. Both of the moons were being closely held by the afternoon sky, and the fresh smell of roses surrounded the area. 3 Red Wing ships left Baron and headed towards a North-Eastern direction, away from the sun. As the day was like every other, the bored King roam throughout the Castle in an attempt to heighten his interests. Cecil Harvey, once a Dark Knight now turned Paladin, found nothing of any interest or importance as every part of the Kingdom bared the same image as of all of those years ago. Being a King was boring, or so Cecil found out a year earlier. The large wooden doors that led to the Throne Room lay open for him to pass through, and 2 guards stood by the sides as still as statues. Their blood red armor reflected King Cecil's face as he continued towards the room where he spent most of his life after the events a year ago - the days when he finally found out about Theodore being who he was to him. Still, life had been the same ever since and no form of excitement struck him or the Kingdom. Harvey came to a stand still as his Paladin-armored body passed through the doors and into the room. His sapphire-like eyes wondered around to gaze at everything he had seen a thousand times before, until boredom took him to his throne. As his eyes closed for him to think about what to do, a Red Wing soldier rushed into the room in a hurry - saluting towards his king for him to not give off any signs of disrespect.

"Please, do not salute..."

"Apologies, my King. I have urgent news."

Cecil's eyes slowly opening up to the sound of the word 'urgent' and 'news'. Surely this may be of some interest to the King, if not anything else. No matter how bored he was, Cecil needed to be active - just like his former self.

"...Do my ears deceive me...? Urgent news? Pray tell."

"Two of our soldiers have found three people in our prison cells. It's strange, due to the fact that there is no way to get in except by passing them - therefor we had to place them in a prison cell."

"... But?"

"-But all three of them were unconscious, but showed signs of life. I personally took the liberty to put them in a spare bed each before coming to you."

"... And as a King, I must visit the sick? At least this is better than nothing at all. Come, show me these three men. I'm interested to listen to whatever story they may present once they wake from their slumber."

Lifting himself up from his throne, King Cecil Harvey yawned and rubbed his eyes before leaving with the Red Wing soldier. They paced through the corridors past the two guards by the doorway, and turned right towards where they kept spare beds for the sick and the wounded. Turning the corner, King Cecil's eyes focused on the three males lying on their beds. With much curiosity, he made his way over towards the one most furthest away from the entrance and looked down at the face of the young man. The unknown young man wore black leather pants, boots, gloves, had brown medium-length hair, and a jacket. Around his neck was a strange pendant which held the engraved face of a lion, and on his forehead was a scar in between his eyes heading down towards the bottom of the right eye running down from the top of the left. The King knelt down and placed his hand over the young man's head to check his temperature, but found nothing unusual about it. His attention was brought towards three blade-like weapons behind him which seemed to draw him in every time he layed his eyes upon them. Rising up from the scarred male, King Cecil's legs brought him towards where the three weapons were leaning against the wall. In the center of the three, a giant sword stood in between the other two like a king. The sword itself seemed to be based and made up of four blades and seemed to attract the attention of Cecil as to how something could have been constructed and imagined. To the right of the huge blade, a strange but sorter blade leaned up against both the wall and the four-pieced blade. Young Harvey slowly ran his fingers down the engraving of a lion on the blade - presuming that this one was the young male in black leather's sword. As he reached the bottom of the blade, his sky-blue eyes looked at the hilt with a confused look upon his face - this blade was built with the power to fire things. Never before had such a thing been seen in his world, therefor questioning himself if these men were from another place, why did they end up here in the first place? Cecil Harvey shrugged the thought off as the final weapon stood up against the large sword and the wall from the left. This blade was as if someone had attached two daggers to each other and used it like a lance or something similar to what Dragoons used - but yet daggers often symbolized Thieves.

"King Cecil, those weapons were found with these three men when we uncovered them in our prison area."

"...I gathered... Amazing at how these weapons seem so very similar to our own, but yet... so very foreign..."

The room fell back into complete silence as the soldier watched his King examine the blades. Noticing that the King was in no danger as such, the crimson armored soldier slowly left the room - leaving Cecil alone with the three unknown males. A sigh came from behind the King, and instantly the King arose from his position and titled his head towards the young male in black-leather as he sat up on the bed. Beside him was a table with a glass of clear sparkling water and a group of roses to make the room smell just as the throne room did. The gloved hand of the young man took ahold of the glass and held it towards his mouth, taking a sip of water before placing it back down on the table beside him. Their eyes fixed on each other as the King turned around fully to see the man his soldiers had looked after.

"... I was wondering when they'd leave..."

The male in black leather slowly looked up at the King who was beside his blade, almost as if he was glaring at him.

"I am King Cecil Harvey of Baron."

"...Whatever..."

"Your ignorance is understandable. Even I, myself, would feel the same way if I suddenly found myself in an unknown location."

He made his way towards the side of the bed, lifting up his cape as he sat down on a chair beside the young man.

"Please, do tell me your name. I'd understand if you decide not to, but getting on a name-to-name basis is better than nothing."

"... Squall Leonhart... I'm a SeeD from Balamb Garden."

"SeeD...? Balamb Garden...? I have never heard of such a thing or place. It is just as I thought, you are not from around these parts - nor are these others. Do you know them?"

The SeeD tilted his head towards the other two males, shrugging moments after. Sighing, the King's eyes turned towards the other male closest towards them both. He had medium-length blonde hair, and wore a green jacket with a white shirt underneath. He looked younger and shorter than Squall, and wore grey gloves with navy blue wristbands, and white boots. His vision was interrupted for a moment as the figure wearing black leather walked by his face and towards the weapon with the engraved lion on the blade, taking it by the hilt and leaning it up against his shoulder.

"Where am I...?"

Cecil's sky-blue eyes turned towards the male on the other side of the youngest as he sat up holding his head. A smile of happiness came about on his face as the blonde spikey-haired man looked up at Squall and then down towards the King.

"You're in Castle Baron. I'm King Cecil Harvey, and this is Squall Leonhart. Me and my men found you, Squall, and this boy in our prison area, but it is unknown to us about how you go there."

The spikey blonde haired male arose from his bed and looked across towards Squall. He, too, wore black leather, and wore a lot more black that Squall himself.

"I'm Cloud Strife. He's a soldier, too? I though he seemed to good to be one."

"...Whatever..."

"No, he isn't one of my men. Squall is one of you, but whatever that is remains unknown to me at this moment. I'm a King, but yet I cannot even figure out something that's staring me in the face... How I wish I were still Lord Captain of the Red Wings..."

As the King looked down onto the concrete floor in disappointment, Cloud walked over towards the giant blade constructed of four separate blades, placing the sword on his back.

"...If we want answers, then it's no good sitting around doing nothing. Looking is the best option we've got."

"I hear you, Squall."

A new voice other than the three came from within the room. All heads turned towards the youngest who was sitting up on the bed with his arms behind his head, relaxing as if nothing was a care in the world.

"Zidane's my name, and earning a living and picking up girls is my game!"

As quick as an Oglop, the young Thief moved around towards his blade, separating them into two daggers and placing them on his belt before jumping up and hanging off of a chandelier by his tail.

"You know, he's right there, your Majesty."

"But of course we need to know what our situation is before we do what we do."

"Zidane, Cloud's right. Therefor we need to know what's going on, otherwise nothing will be done and you will walk endlessly until it's too late."

Looking back, Squall Leonhart turned and sat on the bed closest to Cecil, putting his blade down beside the bed. The former Shin-Ra MP made his way towards the King, and leaned up against the wall.

"You have a way with words, King Cecil."

"It was how I was brought up, Cloud. Anyway, as you already know, my men found you in Baron's prison area. But the question we must pose to acquire the answer is how did you get there?"

The room fell into total silence as the young King finished. Through the windows, the scenery was a beautiful as can be. Several birds flew by as the sun lighted up both of the moons in the afternoon sky.

"... I... I was with... someone very important to me, but for some reason... her face... I can't picture her, or her name..."

Cloud's face suddenly became emotionless as the memories of those who were most important to him were fading out, replacing their faces in his mind's eye with blurred faces. It was truly painful. Suddenly, Cecil Harvey's attention turned towards Squall who looked at his gloved hands in horror.

"... No... Why can't I say their names or see their faces...?! I fought with them against a Sorceress who... I can't even picture her as well...!"

"Cloud, Squall... it's also effecting me... I try to picture someone who I loved, but they just don't appear in my mind... as well as anyone else who I once knew..."

Zidane dropped down from the chandelier and sat on the floor, trying so hard to picture his friend's faces, but to no avail. At this moment, the mood of the room turned sour with disgust in each and everyone's mouth. It was hard to swallow, and it hurt when they did. Confusion was mounted on Cecil's face as it only happened to Cloud, Squall, and Zidane - those who appeared from out of nowhere. Instantly, a Red Wing Captain burst in through the door of the room and saluted.

"... Please, Captain, restrain yourself from saluting..."

"A thousand apologies, my King. We have un-covered something within our prison area, something strange."

"Strange?"

"Indeed, my King. I have come to you to receive orders about what to do."

"I'd rather look at it myself."

King Cecil arose from the chair he sat on, and looked at the three males in despair. He felt their sorrow and his face showed it most of all. Even as a King, Cecil still kept his emotions as his once did, and so walked over towards where the Red Wing Captain was standing.

"Squall, Cloud, Zidane... this may concern you as well. Please, do come."

Without a word, the three young men stood up from their current positions and followed the King out of the room and continued down towards the Prison Cells. Walking by a guard beside the door, Cecil turned the corner to gaze at what had apparently appeared.

"Hmm...?"

A strange dark aura emitted from a darkened hole coming from the back of a cell. It was as if darkness itself was seeping in and out of this strange hole. Could this be the abyss that awaits all at the end of their lives? Or perhaps oblivion? Maybe even the void itself? Whatever it was, it made everyone in the Prison Area feel uneasy. Without a second thought, Cecil turned and walked past everyone and up the steps towards the hallway. There, he took a few deep breaths. It was as if that dark hole was choking him, but only a little. As strange as it was, he didn't dare go back inside. It wasn't long before everyone who had gone in with him emerged from the darkness of the Prison Area, having the same reaction as Cecil - all except for the Red Wing Soldiers and their Captain. After taking one last breath, Cecil Harvey placed his gloved hand on the shoulder of the Captain.

"Please, I'd like you to go and call everyone back to the Castle. I plan to go with these young men. They need answers, and I'm glad to be a part of their lives at the moment. But in order for me to go, I'll need Kain to come back to Baron along with the others. I feel connected to these men somehow, but I'm unsure as to why - therefor I must go. I must follow my heart."

With a silent nod, the Captain paced down the hallway and turned out of sight. Not long after, Zidane walked up towards Cecil.

"That dark hole... did you feel it too? Did it show you what I saw?"

"If you are referring to those negative feelings and those strange visions... then yes. I gather you two also saw them?"

The blonde spikey-haired male, and the SeeD nodded silently as they looked down on the shining floor of the hallway, looking up at their reflections.

"Then that settles it. We'll go through the dark hole, and go wherever destiny takes us."

Squall looked up with a face of steel.

"... Destiny? I'd rather call it fate... Why would you call it destiny?"

"A good question to pose, Squall of Balamb. And a question I'm stuck at answering, also."

The King smiled joyfully at the SeeD, but didn't receive as much as a positive look from him. Whilst he smiled at trying to think of an answer, Cloud's voice took the attention of the three.

"You are able to shape destiny. Fate is a set path... Or at least, that's how I see it."

With that comment, Cecil could clearly see the reflections of all three men smiling. That was a truthful fact, but can it be so much as shaping ones destiny? These questions would be answered eventually. The leather from Squall's and Cloud's clothing shone slightly in the light of the hallway, and their buckles reflected the light coming from a large window above them all. King Cecil walked into the light coming from above, and addressed the three swordsmen fated to meet.

"Please, rest for tonight and prepare yourselves for the day to come tomorrow. When the morning sun in the west crosses over to and is held by the sky at noon, we leave Baron and let destiny take us to wherever the winds may blow. I bid you farewell."

With that, the young King left the three young men along in the corridor together. His footsteps echoed as they faded out until there was complete silence. Moments past as the silence grew common. With the silence broken by Zidane, he walked down the corridor towards the room where the beds where.

"I'll see you guys back where the beds are. I'm gonna hit the hay. Seeya!"

His figure disappeared as he entered the room, shutting the door. The two men in black leather stood opposite to each other, both of them looking down onto the marble floor. Both Cloud and Squall enjoyed the silence as much as anybody did, making them seem like ignorant people due to not talking much with anybody - but many people understood, and some were confused.

"... So... where are you from?"

Squall Leonhart's voice echoed through the silent corridors of the castle, slowly fading out at it reach the end of each hallway. His head moved up slightly to look into the Mako-eyed Cloud Strife, who gazed at himself in the reflection being cast on the smooth surface from where he stood. It was only a long pause later when he decided to lift up his head, still keeping the defensive look with his arms crossed.

"... The people never really had a name for my planet, we just called it by 'the Planet'. Though, I guess Gaia was its name for a while... My hometown - Nibelheim, a small village that held many mysteries before and after its supposed destruction by this man... I can't even picture him at all, not even remember his name - but yet, it's at the tip of my tongue."

"I know how you feel, Cloud. It's the same with me. It's as if my tongue turns sour with disgust that I want to spit it out because it feels lifeless... It's just... strange..."

The SeeD paused for a moment as he ran his tongue along his top row of teeth, swallowing the seemingly sour mouthful of his disgust at not remembering anything about anyone important to him.

"...So, Nibelheim... sounds like a nice place, a little back-water I must say, but a nice name. I'm from Balamb Garden where I trained as a SeeD - a little long to explain what it is, so just think of me as a warrior out to stop any serious threats."

He looked over to Cloud as he brought up his head and shared a brief smile with him before going back to his usual enigmatic self. Those words of Nibelheim sounding like a back-water place made Cloud feel as if he should know somebody who once said that to him, but a blank face only came into his mind's eye. They stood in the hallway like statues, and were noticeable by any who walked by as their dark leather reflected the light of the midday sun. Meanwhile, Cecil Harvey himself marched through towards his chamber, passing a few guards on the way who gave him a welcoming salute. A sigh came from the restless King.

"For the last time... please, restrain yourself from doing that."

Passing through, his cape lifted up very gently and flowed like the calm waters of the sea as it slowly dropped down again. His fists were clenched with the veins clearly visible from his burst of calm excitement. Never before had Cecil known about something that had always been just over the horizon. Curiosity and excitement made him very joyous and incredibly enthusiastic about going through to wherever it leads to, but being an adopted son to the King made him more mature than anyone in the entire Kingdom of Baron, therefor young Harvey was able to keep his emotions concealed. His shadow passed over his bed as he made his way towards the window, looking up at the sky. It was still early to be going to sleep, but getting rest for a journey is more important. No matter where you may go, there could be anything lurking around, and things just awaiting to be discovered. New worlds, new people...

"...Cecil?"

His head turned towards the feminine voice coming from the entrance. To his joy, his beloved Rosa was stood with her harms beside her side, and a polite smile upon her face was clearly visible in the light coming through the windows.

"Rosa!"

He made his way towards his wife and held her tight in the dazzling rays of the eternal light of the sun. Within an instant, they both shared a passionate kiss from the time they had been apart as she had many things to clear up after the events that took place 1 year ago. As their soft lips moved away from each other, their faces were clear in each other's eyes, and they both smiled at each other with much joy from their hearts - soon to allowing them to hold each other close within their arms infront of the midday sun.

"Rosa... I'll be leaving Baron tomorrow morning with the three men I'm mysteriously tied to. They came out of no where, and yet, I feel somewhat connected to them."

"It's alright, Cecil... Do what your heart wants to do. I'll be fine looking after Baron whilst you are away with those men. I, too, have seen them... strange, but normal at the same time..."

"Exactly. Our destinies are tied in a knot with no loose ends... You understand, don't you, Rosa?"

He pleasantly nodded as she turned to look at Cecil with a smile. Reflecting the same smile upon his own face, Cecil Harvey, King of Castle Baron, soon slumbered along with his wife in the bed beside the large window as the 2 moons became clearly visible once more in the approaching night sky - a few hours afterward. The night grew dark and the moons reflected the dim pale light onto the land. A dark figure bathed in the darkness of the night sky, standing on a balcony overlooking the courtyard of Baron. Squall's face was expressionless, and his eyes remained shut as the calming, gentle breeze touched his face. His Revolver Gunblade shone in the twilight. The air was fresh, clean as it were. Taking a deep breath through his mouth, he let it out through his nose. Soon after, his eyes opened up to reveal his dark brown eyes which reflected the moonlight, just as his leather clothing did. Leonhart's figure stood as still as a statue in the moonlit night.

"... Did you even get any rest, Squall? You were here the last time I saw you."

The figure of young Zidane Tribal jumped down behind him.

"... Sure, Zidane. I did get some rest, but more enough I need... Hey... Zidane..."

"Don't tell me, you wanna go through that hole now, don't you? Huh?"

"... No, not that...Do you think that we'll ever... regain our memories?"

"Sure we will, don't sweat it!"

"No... seriously... Do you think we will?"

The young 16-year old sat down on the edge of the balcony.

"... To be honest, I don't really know. But we've gotta try... right?"

"... Right..."

Looking back, Zidane saw Squall hide a slight smile upon his face, being hidden by the shadow of his hair cast upon his face by the moonlight. The sound of boots came slowly towards them both until it stopped just by the doorway connecting the Balcony to the room. Instantly, Zidane spun around, landing side-by-side with Squall as he faced Cloud as he leaned up against the wall beside the doorway.

"Hey there, Cloud."

"Ah-huh."

"... Something the matter?"

"No, not really. I just want to get back to my Planet again, to see my friends, to help people, to be myself... but I can't bear to face people without remembering who they are... do you understand?"

"Sure I do, but I've made a few changes in my life. Never to go around trying to remember a pretty girl's name who I can't remember until I've seen her from a while back for starters!"

"I guess... that's pretty much the same in a sense..."

The 3 mysteriously connected young men stood within the moonlight as the seconds turned into minutes, until finally a familiar voice came from the doorway. Zidane looked up to see King Cecil Harvey holding a staff, along with a sword upon his belt, as well as wearing the armor he had previously seen him wear, but seemingly cleaner. Tilting his head, Squall noticed the King standing beside Cloud and behind himself with a pleasant smile across his face. He turned fully to see him, as did Cloud Strife, pulling down on his black leather gloves. Cecil Harvey looked around at the three men in the dead of night, sharing a smile with each and everyone of them.

"... Alright, let's go."

"... Did you address your wife before leaving?"

"I did, and thank you for your concern, Cloud. Let's leave."

Without another word, Cecil lead the way out, followed closely behind by Cloud, Zidane, and Squall. All 4 of them were like creatures of the night as they paced the Castle towards the Prison Area of Baron, not making so much as a sound. Eventually the party of 4 came towards the Prison door, stopping as Cecil took out a set of keys from his belt, and opened up the door. The door itself was as dark as coal as the darkness within the hallways made everything seem a little more darker than what it seemed. The door swung open, as a single light stayed on within the Prison Area, casting some light on their darkened faces and momentarily making them cover their eyes from the light for a brief second. Their footsteps echoed through the Prison Area as each step got longer and longer, until they reached the very end of the road. There it was. The eternal abyss. It stared into us. And we stared back. A figure of black leather with a trench-coat passed by the group, and looked into the darkness seeping in and out of the hole appearing from nothingness. His head turned back towards the group, looking at King Cecil dead in the eye.

"Do you still want to come with us? You should know that you will see many things, things that we may not feel comfortable about. We may find anything through the darkness. Do you still want to come?"

Cecil stood forwards boldly with a proud smile.

"Let's go."

The King of Baron made his way towards the dark hole and continues on walking - even when his body came close to the darkness, even as he passed through it. No traces of Cecil were seen as his entire figure seemed consumed by the dark abyss. Moments after he passed through, the former Shin-Ra MP closed his eyes and held a brief smile of happiness as he turned away from the rest of the group and trailed after the King as his figure was also consumed seconds after entering. The two remaining men stood infront of the dark hole in the fabric of reality. Dashing towards the mysterious hole, the young 16-year old Zidane Tribal spun around, grinning for a split second, before he also entered. The Gunblade was leaning up on the shoulder of the last remaining male. The SeeD's face showed some happiness, licking his lips in a silent excitement, soon to rub his head seconds after.

"... Man... what have I got myself into now?"

His words held a more joking tone of voice. Squall's legs moved without hesitation towards the dark abyss, soon to be completely consumed by it. Silence. The portal disappeared. Baron lay in silence. Hours went by after their early leave from the Castle, and the morning winds came in from the west, towards the east - along with the radiant morning sun arriving thereafter. In Cecil's private room, his Queen, Rosa, lay in her sleep as the sun's dominant rays shine through the window, slowly reaching the King-sided bedspread. Beside her was a small table which held a vase of fresh roses, an empty glass, and a piece of paper - with writting in the same format of a letter.

_~Dear Rosa_

_If you are reading this now, then surely I have left the kingdom for a short while. But please, do not fear. I have gone with the three men we found the other day, Cloud, Squall, and Zidane - these people seem to have a connection with me, but I fear I do not yet know. This journey is about trying to find out my connection with these men, or at least, that is my objective. I do not know when I'll be back, but the other day, I told the Red Wings to return back to Baron. In my absence, if Kain is to return, he shall rule the kingdom, whilst you are the overall important person within our kingdom - therefor, please set an example to others. Incase of any form of attack on Baron, please tell our old friends to stay until I return - therefor we have the best chance of a celebration upon my return, with our friends. And on a final note, I will always love you - there is nobody in the world who I would want to spend my life and share my kingdom with the most other than a kind, gentle, and loving person like you._

_All my love,_

_Cecil Harvey, King of Baron._

_P.S - Please inform the guards to restrain themselves from saluting whenever they approach me._


	2. Enigma

_Life. No one really knows where it will take us. Is it our own decisions that guide us, or does fate play the bigger role - dictating the road we'll travel, which course we'll be steering?_

The ever-lasting darkness shrouded a mysterious place. Like fog, it was thick. As the eyes of an awoken Leonhart opened slightly, the smallest glimmer of light eradicated the dark which clouded his eyes - rubbing them shortly afterwards. His body was upon solid rock, and his head turned as he sat up to see a set of bars in front of him. The SeeD rubbed his head ever so slightly as he was brought to the fact that he was trapped in some kind of cell. The black leather jacket was dusty, of which Squall's attention was turned to moments after noticing his impression - and therefor attempted to rub the dust off his arm. A slight sigh came from behind him, along with the sound of metal walking his way from within the cell. Emerging from the darkness, the Paladin armor reflected a pale dim light coming from the other side of the prison area, somewhere towards a set of stairs. Kneeling down beside the SeeD, King Cecil's eyes met his.

"How are you, Leonhart?"

"... Where are we?"

"I am uncertain, my friend. Though our location is as of yet unknown, I can confirm that we are within some sort of dungeon - or prison."

Offering out his hand, Cecil bared a slight smile upon his blue lips. About a meter or so behind the Paladin, a peaceful Cloud Strife leaned up against a brick wall with his eyes closed and his arms crossed in a defensive position. To the left of the blonde-haired male, young Tribal was sitting down with his legs spread out, and his arms behind his head as if he was relaxed in this current position. Taking the King's hand, Squall Leonhart was lifted up onto his feet, soon to continue cleaning himself of the dust. The Paladin turned around towards the wall opposite Cloud.

"Does anyone actually remember being put in this place?"

The former Shin-Ra MP's voice echoed slightly as his eyes opened after he spoke to all within the cell. Taking interest, the SeeD's eyes turned towards the other men as his head bowed down to see the front of the jacket. The 16-year old Zidane looked up from where he sat at Cloud Strife, shaking his head with an emotionless face. Cecil's eyes met Cloud as he gazed around the small cell.

"To be the first one to awaken from our slumber, I can say that I cannot remember a thing. We passed through the dark hole - but that's all I remember."

"Surely there must be a way out this cell."

Tribal arose from where he sat, pressing himself up against the steel bars of the cell as he tried to look around - but no luck. Only darkness of the old prison area was visible. Footsteps came down from where the pale light was as several shadows blocked it. It was hard to make out who or what these men were, but they wore red armor that seemed to be knights or guards. The head of a relaxed Cloud Strife turned to meet a heavily armored man with six others beside him standing in front of the cell at the other side, whilst SeeD seemed to glare at them. The same reaction seemed to come from Zidane - as his eyes seemed to have fire within them as his eyes met that of the knight, but held a smug smile upon his face. On the other hand, the King of Baron stood in a small space of his own, looking like a true Paladin of honor.

"Stand to attention when you are facing me!"

A loud and thunderous voice came from the main knight standing in front of the cell as he stood with both of his arms behind his back, and his chest sticking out slightly. The sight of the red armor he wore was made visible as the stairway allowed the pale light to shine once more inside the prison area.

"... And who are you to command us to do that?"

The six other guards reacted in shock as young Leonhart spoke back to their Commander, almost as if they had never had that happen to them in their entire lives. The Commander's face slowly became red with anger as the young male in black leather stood in plain view without a care in the world at what he had just done. Almost instantly after Squall spoke, the 16-year old Genome made himself known.

"Maybe if you let us out and give us our weapons, I'll give you a 10 second start before I kick your butt!"

"What did you just say to me?! Watch your tongue, boy!!"

"Hold."

The voice of Cecil Harvey came from the shadows, soon to come out of it and confronted the Commander who seemed to be reaching for his blade attached to his belt. The hand of the red-armored man stopped as the radiance of Cecil appeared before him.

"Someone who knows when to hold a fool back before they say something they might regret later, I like that. And who might you be for someone so bold?"

"I am Cecil Harvey, King of..."

"- King?! You're no king! Guards, take these men to the King - he'll decided what their punishment is!"

The Paladin was stopped before he could explain that he was the King of Baron. This commander was very quick to send them to his King as soon as Cecil said that he was a King, therefor they must have really travelled to another world through the mysterious hole. The cell door opened, and Zidane was taken hold of by three guards as he seemed to be the most dangerous at this current moment in their eyes and was escorted out of the cell, soon to be followed by Cecil who willingly went followed with only one guard taking him away. In the darkness of the prison cell, the Commander watches as the two remaining guards took Leonhart and Strife out of the cell. They, too, were also willing to go and therefor in the Commander's eyes, they only needed the two guards to take them away. Just as Squall made his way towards the stairs, the Commander appeared beside him.

"I've got my eye on you..."

Paying no attention, the SeeD calmly made his way up the stone staircase and out of the darkness of the cells, closely followed by his guard, Cloud Strife, another guard, then the Commander who closed the door -locking it shortly after. The party of four were led down a long hallway, before turning up a set of stairs. As they turned, the sight of light almost blinded them as they had gotten used to the darkness of the cell - but it was a good feeling that they felt as it met their eyes, and made them feel warm inside. Someone in particular who had just gotten used to the light was Squall Leonhart. After he had saved his world from an evil sorceress and her plan to compress time into a single second, Leonhart settled down with his love and embraced the light for the first time in his life. It felt liberating, but the closer he got to the light again, the more pain he felt about to remembering his past, his friends, but worst of all - his love. It was painful, but his reactions made him more human. Noticing Squall's face of emotions, the former Shin-Ra MP made his way towards Squall until he was side-by-side with him. They both were about the same height.

"Squall. Right now, I can see that you've only recently just found your light. I have, too. I found mine with my grief relieved from me after three years after I helplessly watched as two dear friends of mine died. After I defeated a terrible man, I felt like all of my sins had been forgiven..."

"... But the thing being that you can not remember them?"

"Yes. I can remember the words I said to him very clearly... 'Stay where you belong... in my memories...' .... and he's gone from them."

"...So you think with this man you knew gone from your memories, you feel it's like..."

"A blessing...? You could say that... But with him gone, the others have gone. It's almost as if I can't have anything without him being there. I can't remember his name, nor his face or anything else. It feels great, with the exception of the anger and hate I felt towards him... that's still there... but then it isn't... It's complicated."

"There's no need to wonder about it - it's perfectly understandable."

By the time the two men had finished talking, they had already made it towards a large door with Zidane and Cecil standing together with their guards. Before standing in a line beside them, the two males in black leather shared a very simple yet understanding smile towards each other. In Leonhart's head, he felt as if this Cloud Strife fellow would be a good friend towards him. Cecil was understandably a passionate and head-strong man, something that Squall liked about someone ever since he lived side-by-side with the light of his lover. Zidane wasn't the best person he could associate with but he was an interesting young boy - even if he looked only just two years younger than himself. As the party of four stood up against the brick wall, the 6 guards made themselves equal and halved into three, standing on the opposite sides of the large wooden doors. Their blood-red and yellow armor looked brilliant in the sunlight coming through the windows of the castle. Instantly as their Commander appeared from down the hallway from climbing up the stairs, they saluted to show their respect as guards. The saluting caught the eye of one man in particular, and therefor the Paladin held his head with his hand.

"You four men, stand to attention, separate yourselves, and bow to the King of Cornelia when you enter through those doors. Got that? If you show any sign of disrespect towards his majesty, I wouldn't want to be in your boots when he reacts. Line up, and follow me."

The party made their way towards the Commander, lining up behind him - leaving a gap in between each of them. Raising his arm towards the guards, 1 of them on each side reached towards the handles on the door, swinging them open whilst the other who stood like statues. As the wooden doors opened up slowly, the sight of a king and a very young lady stood by his side. The Commander smoothly made his way in with the others, and stood by the King of Cornelia's left as the young lady stood on the right. As remembered, Zidane Tribal, Cecil Harvey, Squall Leonhart, and Cloud Strife approached the King of Cornelia, separating themselves from each other and bowed towards his majesty. A smile of satisfaction came across the Commander's face as they performed the actions as requested. In the throne sat a middle-aged man with red and white robes with light brown hair. The King looked stern and seemed like a man of wisdom. The young lady beside him wore a clean, white dress with a light green head-dress with her tiara mounted on the top. Zidane's eyes lit up the moment he noticed the beautiful, young lady, but his attention was broken as the King's voice became known.

"This will be easier if one of you can designate yourselves as the leader of your group. Please step forward."

Cloud stood with his arms beside his side as he turned his head towards Cecil who was on the other side of Squall who stood next to him. Almost instantly the King of Baron noticed this, and made a gesture with his hands to decline Cloud's idea. As he turned back, Zidane looked up at the Paladin with a wide grin. Yet again, young Harvey turned his head and looked as him with his eyes in order to get him to stop. Squall also turned towards Cecil, of which the young lady standing beside the King also noted.

"I believe they want you to represent them, sir."

"Oh, forgive me. This is my daughter, Princess Sarah. And yes... it does seem that way, too! Come, step forward."

The King of Baron was rather hesitant to step forward, but did so after taking a sigh of embarrassment. The other three looked on as their 'leader' took two paces forward until he was 6 meters away from him.

"I am Cecil Harvey, King of Castle Baron."

A confused look came across the King of Cornelia's face upon the announcement that the group's leader was the King of Baron.

"Baron? I have not heard of this place... Hmm, you four definitely have a strange energy emitting from each of you. Please, go on to tell me about how you and your allies have come to be here."

"About a year ago, me and a group of friends defeated an evil being called Zemus and saved the Blue Planet from the darkness that it was trying to bring. After that, I became a husband and the King of Baron. During the year afterwards, I ruled over Baron and held up the rules of humanity. Only recently, I stumbled across these 3 young, fine men. They mysteriously ended up in my castle's dungeons with no memory of their past. They could remember what had happened in their pasts, but nothing to do with names or images in their mind's eye. After resting a night, we adventured through a strange hole that had come with them in the dungeon - and that's how we came to be in your castle, sire."

The Paladin looked onward as the King of Cornelia tried to come to terms with what he had just explained to him. His eyes were seemingly in disbelief a few seconds after absorbing the information, and took his time to reply.

"... The Blue Planet... You mean... you and your allies here are from... other worlds? Do such things even exist? You are an honest man, King of Baron. From one king to another, I believe your every word. There is only one thing I cannot help noticing..."

Princess Sarah looked towards her father, before turning back towards the 4 warriors. She seemed to gaze long and hard until her eyes lit up, and approached the King.

"There are 4 of them, but they do not hold any crystals. I believe that's what you are thinking about, father?"

"Yes, indeed that is what I am noticing. They hold no crystals, but they have a strange radiance coming from them. The prophesy has already been fulfilled about the four warriors with crystals appearing to save the world from everlasting darkness... so... could this be something new...? Something we haven't yet foreseen...?"

The young Zidane folded his arms as he though to himself. He couldn't quite get his head around all of this, so he decided to stand there and pretend to understand until he finally knew what they were going on about. Squall and Cloud, on the other hand, tried to understand but could not and therefor stood in silence. Standing in his silver and blue armor, the King of Baron spoke out.

"Excuse me, but what is this about four warriors appearing to defeat the darkness?"

The King sat up in his chair.

"It may not matter, but there was a prophesy that when the world is under threat from darkness, four warriors bearing crystals would appear to fight the darkness. It has already been fulfilled by a very gallant and bold young man with silver hair with blue, white, and gold armor, who held the Excalibur... he came here about a year ago, and brought my daughter back after she was kidnapped by one of my knights. Oh... I see..."

"... Excuse me?"

"The Warrior of Light..."

Everybody within the King's Throne Room stood silent as the King mumbled to himself and the party of four watched. Cecil was the most confused at this moment, and tried to keep up with what the King of Cornelia was trying to say.

"... I think you should seek out the Warrior of Light. A year ago, after he defeated an evil being called Chaos, he mysteriously disappeared in a ray of light. We didn't see where he was, but the ray of light was over the Chaos Temple. After he left, we demolished the temple to built a shrine dedicated to him for what he did for us a year ago. He stopped a time loop, and set everything right - from discord to peace... but I've never told anybody this... I remember the paradox. Anyway... Sometimes we go there to lay piece-offerings for him, and some people say that they have often seen a ghostly image of a young armored man in Knight's armor standing up on the shrine. Some people have tried to get close, but when they do, the image of the Knight fades into the light from the sky. So my guess is that you must seek the aid of the Warrior of Light. The shrine is located towards the north, about two hours-worth of walking. There, seek his help - I'm sure he'll know what to do."

Upon finishing his speech, the King looked towards Cecil who, seemingly, understood what to do. Zidane finally had given up wondering what they were going on about, and just decided to go along with the flow. The former Shin-Ra MP, Cloud Strife, turned towards Squall who was also looked at him - nodding towards each other. A pleasant smile came from the King's daughter, Princess Sarah, as she watched Cecil get on his knee, thanking the King of Cornelia.

"We shall take our leave, then..."

"Your weapons will be waiting at the entrance of the castle."

Cecil turned away, walking towards the doors.

"Be safe."

Zidane turned towards Princess Sarah as she spoke, grinning.

"Don't worry, I will!"

Without another though, he dashed out of the throne room and followed Cecil out. The Princess chuckled to herself after Zidane's comment, and waved the two remaining men in black leather out of the room. The two large wooden doors closed behind them moments after them left, the last thing the King saw were the four young men - marching gallantly and boldly into their future. It was almost an exact image of what happened a year ago. Time continued onward as the four young men marched across the land of Cornelia, across the grasslands of this new world. Everyone of them were driven to go further, and did not give up. They battled many fiends from this new world, and quickly adapted to the enemies. This was the first time the party of four could see each other fight, and they all were impressed with their fighting styles. Cloud's First Tsurugi blade was one of the most surprising weapon for everyone on the team, as it was a group of small swords which could combine into one large and powerful blade. Zidane's incredible speed was his key advantage to winning a battle, and his speed did not go un-noticed by the rest of the party. Squall Leonhart's choice and form of fighting his enemies, as well as his Revolver Gunblade's hidden abilities gave him a lot of choice and combat abilities during battle was admired a lot by the team. Cecil Harvey's abilities as a Paladin was incredible, and the hidden ability to Job Change into a Dark Knight was the most surprising of the lot, and his attributes in fighting gave him an overall advantage against a lot of his enemies, of which the party seemed to think was a little unfair, but they wished they could do the same. In the short space of the time they left the Castle of Cornelia, and adventured north, all four of them developed a strong relationship with each other. Hours passed, and yet nobody was bored with the constant fighting that they had to do - in forests, or on the grasslands. The more they fought, the stronger their bond became with each other - and soon enough, they were laughing, joking around, and sharing stories. It was the most perfect relationship. After three hours, the group stopped in the middle of a large field in the middle of nowhere. The Genome, Zidane, sat down on a rock.

"Hey, guys... how long have we been walking for? Like six hours?"

"... Three Hours, actually..."

"Wait... you actually keep track of the time, Cloud?!"

"...No, it's just that the sun's has shifted it's position since the last time I looked - and it's been approximately three hours since the last time I looked as the sun's position is a little bit towards the right, like a clock. You should learn to do that, therefor you won't need a watch."

"Heh heh... I'll try to keep that in-mind..."

Cecil's eyes focus on a very calm Squall whose eyes were closed, and his Gunblade rested upon his shoulders.

"...Something wrong, Leonhart?"

"... We have been walking for three hours, and the King said we should be at the shrine in two hours. I'm unsure about you, but have you noticed that the scenery has been exactly the same for one hour? We've practically been going nowhere for an extra hour..."

"... What?!"

The King of Baron's eyes moved away from the SeeD, and looked around. Cloud Strife walked towards Cecil as he finished gazing across the land.

"You know, he's right. When I come to think of it, that mountain over by that forest near the sea has been in the exact place the last time I looked..."

Zidane seemed to not be bothered as much as Cloud or Cecil, and so he sat there with his legs crossed looking up at the clear blue sky. As both Cloud and Cecil stared at each other, the SeeD held his Griever pendent on his necklace and closed his eyes as he was deep in thought. Almost instantly after he opened up his eyes, the fires of fury within his eyes begun to light up, taking up his usual battle stance.

"Show yourself!!"

The other three turned their heads to see Squall. The eyebrow of the young Genome was raised in reaction to Squall's burst of fury.

"Uh... Hey, Squall... have you, like, gone crazy...?"

"Tribal, Leonhart is right - someone or something is doing this. Take up your weapons!"

Cecil quickly took his lance and went back-to-back with the SeeD. The King of Baron became extra vigilant as his battle stance was taken up. Without a word, Cloud Strife took his First Tsurugi from his back and held it firmly within his gloved hands, whilst Zidane flipped up from the rock, landing, and taking out his twin daggers. Moments went by. After a few seconds, a breeze begun to pick up and grew stronger with each passing second. It suddenly died. Silence. Soon after, a strange figure was slowly appearing piece-by-piece - like an image in heat as it was wavy and blurry. The image was humanoid in shape, and the clothing consisted of red robes and black fur, as well as black wings. The feet of the being seemed like a beast's, as well as the hands. This person's hair was made into two horn-like shapes, and had strange symbols and beads. Zidane, Cecil, and Cloud looked on the image of a female became visible. Instantly as the image of the woman came into view, Squall Leonhart dropped down on his knee - his eyes clenched together. A flash of light within his minds eye, and his eyes opened up.

"...Rinoa..."

Cloud tilted his head towards Squall who quickly took up his Gunblade once more.

"...Rinoa? Who's...."

The exact reaction that Squall had received a few moments earlier hit 23-year old Strife.

"...Tifa..."

As Cloud called out the name of his one-true love, Zidane jumped in front of the former Shin-Ra MP incase of any attack.

"Huh...? Who's Rinoa and Tifa? Ugh... Garnet..."

The three young men from different worlds appeared to be remembering things from their pasts, or so that was what Cecil seemed to think. Without a second though about it, Cecil Harvey dashed over towards Zidane and Cloud who were still on their knees, and kept on looking back and forth to see if the figure in the distance would attack.

"Quickly, take up your weapons!"

Squall Leonhart turned his head to see Cecil helping the other two of his allies, then turned back towards the figure. Within a second, the being appeared twenty meters in front of Squall from eighty meters ahead. As much as 18-year old Leonhart looked at the female figure, the more he couldn't help but wonder why he had just remembered his love's name. He couldn't see the woman's face, as if it was blurred out like the faces of his loved ones from his memories. The female stopped. Her right arm raised up towards Squall, then clicked her fingers once. A gasp came from Squall as he eyes lit up as the image of an old enemy came into plain view. Her face was no-longer blurred out.

"...No... no, it can't be... Ultimecia..."

The familiar yellow eyes, silver hair, blood-red lips, and mysterious colored markings became known to him, as well as the rest of the party. A very sinister and familiar smile spread across the lips of the sorceress from the future. She didn't even say a word, only stood and smiled at him. As Squall stood staring at her and tried to come to terms about her existence, the image of a very furious Cloud Strife races past him and swiftly towards her.

"...You made me remember... you made me remember him!!"

Letting out an incredibly loud war cry, Strife launched himself up into the air - coming down with such might, down towards Ultimecia. Without even taking a glance at him, he raised up her arm towards him, casting a protective barrier - sending him soaring across the field and hitting the ground with a loud thud. His First Tsurugi blade fell from the sky, piercing the ground a few meters away from him. It stood like a gravestone. Everybody watched as no movement came from their friend, until Zidane's body glowed a very pink-like color. His heightened emotions had given him the power of Trance - something that nobody in the party had ever seen before until now. The Genome dashed towards her like a blur. He was so fast that by the time he was seen again, young Tribal was lying on the ground a few inches in front of Cecil, reverting back to his normal self as if he was knocked out. They were fools to take on Ultimecia by themselves, and so the last two remaining young men stood together like comrades in a long war. They didn't even need communication - only one look at each other, and they knew what they were going to do. Seconds went by, and Squall decided to make a run for her - transforming his Revolver to his Lionheart Gunblade. He converted his rage into his own power, using it to run faster than he ever had. Only a few steps away from her, Leonhart jumped towards her, taking his Gunblade around his neck for a large swing. Moments before he struck her, the King of Baron, Cecil Harvey, Job Changed into his Dark Knight form and used the powers of darkness to combat the enemy, sending out several balls of dark energy to attempt to distract the sorceress' focus.

Unsuccessful. Ultimecia only guarded against Cecil's attack, and used the darkness from Cecil's magic with her own to produce an explosion - hitting Squall with such might, and sending him high up into the air. Feeling responsible for this, Cecil reverted back to his Paladin form and dashed to where his ally would land. The Lionheart Gunblade dropped down beside Ultimecia's feet. Squall was caught by Cecil, who fell to the floor with Squall's body in his arms. He took a glance at Squall's unconscious face before laying him down in the grass, and arose, glaring into the eyes of this enigmatic woman. Seconds went by as they did nothing by stare each other down. After a minute had gone by, the King of Baron spoke with her.

"You heartless... Who are you to hold such powers...? Answer me!!"

For the first time, a sound came from the sorceress. A very sinister chuckle came from her, of which made Cecil even more enraged. His hand was fixed on his lance, holding it with such strength - with his rage being another key factor to the power of the swing. She did not answer him, but only laughed at him and the rest of his fallen comrades. Cecil could not hold back any longer, and so rushed her with his speed and rage - taking out his sword from his belt so he was dual-wielding. He met the same fate as he friends. As he came to swing at her, she gathered mysterious purple energies within the palm of her hand, firing it at an open Paladin. As he hit the floor, Cecil's lance flew through the air and landed behind Ultimecia whilst his sword followed him and pierced the ground inches away from his head. They had failed to defeat this new evil, and the party of 4 lay there without movement. The only movement came from their hearts. Satisfied with the result, Ultimecia slowly floated towards the last warrior she faced. Raising up her deformed arms, she begun to use strange sorceress magic, and pulled something from his unconscious mind. A ghost-like figure of a heavily armored clad in darkness appeared above Cecil encased within sorceress energies emitting from her. It was as if she has taken the memory of Golbez from Cecil and made it real. Completing her spell, the Golbez from Cecil's memory became real and looked down towards his brother. This Golbez was hers to control - like a puppet. Finished with what she had done, she raised up her right arm to summon as strange hole from her powers, and was willingly absorbed into it, and was closely followed by her new toy. As it closed, everything around the bodies changed. The scenery morphed back into what it should have been than just a copy of somewhere they had previously been. As it would turn out, they had already made it to the sacred shrine dedicated to the Warrior of Light, but were delayed by the sorceress.

Silence. A slight breeze touched the faces of the four warriors, making the grasslands wave in a beautiful way. The shrine itself was merely just a set of stone steps leading to an altar where a stand would be of which depicts the prophesy. Around the altar would be a small wall of which depicts the Warrior of Light's battles he endured through his journey to rid the world of Chaos. It was purely man-made, but sacred and beautiful. Moments flew by as the four bodies of the blessed warriors lay there in the grass. The clouds in the sky broke apart to reveal a large ray of light shining down towards where the altar was. The light became so bright that you could never see the altar itself. As it slowly begun to die down, the image of a Knight wearing blue, gold, and white armor appeared where the light had just been. His silver hair flowed gently in the breeze of the midday air. These moments in the eyes of some would be priceless to see such a marvelous sight.

As soon as the last trace of blinding light had faded, the sky-blue eyes of the Warrior of Light opened...


	3. Invocation

_What twists must we endure? One thing is for certain: There is no certainty, no way to know. And everything can change in an instant.  
_

Winds from the east blew ever so gently across the skin of the four bodies that lay there upon the grasslands surrounding the stone altar dedicated to the mysterious being - the Warrior of Light. The sight of the fallen men entered the eyes of the Warrior of Light. Though he did not know who these people were, as a respectable man, he knelt down in the centre of the altar. Seconds felt like hours as he was as still as a statue, seemingly praying for them. As soon as he had finished doing so, the moment he arose upon to both feet, the eyes of the four blessed warriors slowly begun to open ever so slightly. The first to open his eyes was the warrior who was struck down by the Sorceress from the future, Cloud Strife - who pulled himself up from the ground, punching the floor. It was not until he placed his gloved hand upon his blade, he noticed his fallen comrades around him. During the split second he thought to act and go to their aid, the corner of his eye caught a glimpse of a man wearing blue, white, and gold armor - matching the description that the King of Cornelia gave about the supposed 'Warrior of Light'. The radiant light from the skies met with all four men around the altar, as well as the Warrior of Light himself. Instead of going to see if his new-found friends needed any aid of such, the dark figure of Cloud made his way up the stone steps with his sword on his back, and his arms by his side in a casual manor. His black leather clothing reflected a very dim pale light, and his boots made a slight tapping noise as they hit each step. As he reach the top step, the image of the blessed Knight stood basking in the sunlight shining down onto the altar.

"... Are you... the Warrior of Light?"

Both men seemed to glare at each other as the former Shin-Ra MP waited for a reply from this strange man dressed in beautiful shining colors. It was almost as if the light was forever on his side, as a large majority of light was behind as well as over him.

"... Those of the legend call me that. The Warrior of Light is forever my name, and my physical, mental, and spiritual beings are connected with the light. There is no other."

Before Cloud could answer, the sound of footsteps approaching across the crushed fresh grass and up the stone steps took away his attention. The moment he saw dark brown hair, and a scar in the middle of his eyes, Strife let out a very small pleasant smile of happiness to the fact that his new-found friend who he was most like on this journey was still alive. Squall Leonhart slowly approached the blessed Warrior of the Light and stood side-by-side with Cloud, resting his Revolver Gunblade upon his right shoulder, and his gloved hand holding onto the hilt very firmly.

"... Whatever... We were told to come to you to see if you're able to help us out."

"I could sense that there was something in this world that should not be... and I am able to see that you four are the cause of this... wait, no..."

Standing in thought with his brilliant Excalibur attached to his belt, the Warrior of Light placed his gloved left hand over the lower half of his face as he thought. An awful amount of confusion was mounted upon his face at this moment in time. It was suddenly lifted off as he placed his hand down by his side once more.

"... I feel that there are more people. They came here first... A mysterious woman..."

"That would be who Squall called 'Ultimecia', then."

A voice came from behind the mystical Knight, as a small familiar figure sat upon the stone walls where the Warrior of Light's past journey had been carved upon. Climbing over, Zidane used his tail and launched himself towards the Warrior of Light - landing a meter away with his two blades upon his belt moving from the forces of his swift movements - trying to impress the blessed Knight. Young Tribal's speed was surely unmatched by far. He arose to greet the Warrior of Light, offering out a hand of friendship with him - and his usual cheeky grin.

"You are fast, young man... but speed does not always win the battle."

The grin was wiped clean from Zidane's face as soon as he thought that through, by which the Warrior of Light had finished greeting him with the offered handshake. The Warrior of Light sounded very serious as he usually does as he said it. As soon as he had thought it through a second time, his feelings were seemingly crushed. Being a thief was practically his life, and being told that speed, his most signature asset was not enough, Zidane Tribal turned away slightly to re-think his life.

"Ultimecia? I know nothing of any Ultimecia, but I understand that some the worlds have had people missing. Maybe this 'Ultimecia' is one of those people - just as you 4 are missing from your worlds."

"... But... that's exactly what's wrong. She shouldn't even be around anymore. I defeated her a long time ago, along with my friends back on my world. She died, I watched her fade away into time itself."

Leonhart took his Gunblade down from his should, and folded his arms whilst he awaited an answer or anything that may lead to the answer as to why she was still alive. At this moment, everyone seemed occupied with their own business - Zidane seemed to be deep in though, Squall was attempting to find an answer with this mysterious Warrior of the Light, and Cloud stood there like a nobody. Tilting his head, he noticed Cecil Harvey get up from the ground and walk over towards his lance and sword - placing the sword on his belt, and his lance upon his back, before making his way up the stone steps towards the altar. As soon as the King of Baron noticed Cloud's figure, the back of Squall's head, and Zidane in the corner thinking to himself, he let out a sigh of relief that they had all survived their unfortunate battle with the Sorceress from the future - Ultimecia. Even if Cloud didn't show much a smile, Cecil could tell that he was concerned for him only by looking within his distant eyes. Being a king has it's advantages.

"I am sorry, but I am afraid I do not know why she lives. You said that she faded into 'time'... tell me, what do you mean by that?"

"...Well, she was plotting something called 'Time Compression' the last time I fought her - it's a little bit complicated... To be honest, no one knew what her intention behind it was. After my friends and I defeated her, she was fading away into the fabric of time. The last time I saw her was then, and have only just seen her once more in this world..."

"Interesting. Tell me, what are your names?"

"... Squall Leonhart..."

"Cloud Strife."

"Uh? Oh, Zidane Tribal's the name!"

"I'm Cecil Harvey, King of Baron."

As Cecil's voice came into hearing distance, he appeared at the top of the stone stairs in his shining silver and blue Paladin armor. Upon noticing the King of Baron, Zidane smiled in his usual manor to greet him, whilst both Cloud and Squall greeted him with a simple nod. As he made his way past Squall to meet and greet the Warrior of Light, Cecil brushed himself off with his left hand - dropping down onto his knee to show no disrespect to the legendry figure. Strangely enough, the Warrior of Light did the exact same movement as he did. It wasn't until Cecil decided to look up towards him, noticing that he was also greeting him in the same fashion. As they both arose from the floor of the altar, the Paladin took a step back to give him space.

"Squall Leonhart. It would seem to me that your foe was absorbed into the very time of all worlds - therefor her particles would eventually regroup once more, and therefor she was once more again. Her intentions aren't that clear to me, I'm afraid."

Turning away from him, Leonhart looked down towards his Griever necklace.

_'...What does Ultimecia want this time...'  
_

- this thought kept on echoing throughout the corridors of his mind as he spun his necklace in circles to try and help him concentrate. From the time he spoke with the Warrior of Light, to the time of Squall's questions coming to an end, the middle-aged Cloud Strife had been within his little protective sphere of secrecy. Remembering back to his foolish attempt to strike down Ultimecia, Strife felt his negative emotions return after remembering the man from his past. The very man who destroyed his village, killed two dear friends, and came back to end his life - Sephiroth. The more he thought about it, the more questions kept on appearing within his mind. It was almost as if he was forced to remember Sephiroth during the very second he remembered Tifa. They were the only things Cloud could remember: Sephiroth and his one-true love. Finished with his search within his mind, his dark figure confronted the blessed Warrior of Light.

"... If I may, I want to ask a question. Warrior of Light, why have our memories left us? We remembered people the moment this 'Ultimecia' clicked her fingers... is she behind this?"

"Being absorbed through the fabric of time seems to have given her abilities beyond those of normal people - but she is not normal, she is a sorceress... and therefor... her powers have become more than before. I do not know what powers she held before all this happened, but I'm sure Squall Leonhart may have an idea of what to expect. But, never the less, she gave you your memories - perhaps she can take them away, too. There is no certainty, except for the fact that she may appear again."

With the words 'she may appear again' spoken to the four warriors, it send chills down their spines. They couldn't defeat her before - so what's to say that the same will not happen again? Either way, it made Squall and Cloud feel stronger. With what she had done to Cloud, forcing him to remember Sephiroth, it only made him clench his fists incredibly tight.

"Hey, guys... I have a confession to tell you all..."

All eyes were on Zidane who made his way towards the wall, jumping up on it, and sitting down softly.

"I remembered someone else, too, when she clicked her fingers. Someone special to me... and someone who's... well, my brother... except he isn't - but he is. To tell you the truth, I hated him to the point where he'd fight to the death - but we both realized that we were wrong about so many things... and, well... he died - and I was forced to remember him the moment I remembered my princess Garnet."

"Zidane Tribal. With this, we are able to determine that Ultimecia is able to force you to remember certain memories that you all have lost. Squall remembered Ultimecia, and Zidane remembered Garnet and his brother. I am certain that you, too, Cecil and Cloud have remembered someone - but you may be private in your lives."

Finishing, the Warrior of Light turned to see Squall who seemed to gazed at a silver object around his neck. Seemingly it was important to him, and so the Warrior of Light turned away to see the boots of the King of Baron approach him.

"I am from another world, Warrior of Light - but these 3 came to my world unconscious. We found a dark hole my castle's dungeon where they had come from, and so we decided to go through. That is how we got to this world. My memory is not effected, but these 3 young men had memory loss when we found them. However... I do have heightened feelings for my brother, Theodore, at this moment in time... I feel she had done something to be after I was knocked out with my mind, which involved my brother..."

"As I said, her powers seem to be more powerful than our own. But with the power of Light, and our cooperation - we will be able to rid this foe from this world, and the others."

At the sound of other worlds, the heads of the 4 mysteriously connected young men turned to the Warrior of Light. Almost instantly, Squall turned back to his pendent, and Zidane towards the surroundings. The only people who seemed to take any interest were both Cloud Strife and Cecil Harvey. Turning his head slightly away from the blessed Knight, Cloud's eyes closed as he spoke.

"... Other worlds? You mean we are able to cross into other worlds?"

"There is one thing to know. You are un-able to return to your own world whilst the problem preventing it is active - or in other words, Ultimecia. Allow me to show you..."

Opening his eyes, Strife watched very observantly with Cecil standing by his side as the Warrior of Light reached for his blade, closing his eyes. Slowly taking it out, the Warrior of Light held it up to the skies. As seconds flew by, the young men watched as the Warrior of Light seemed to be doing absolutely nothing. Upon closer examination, the clouds in the noon sky were circling around where the Excalibur was - gradually rotating faster and faster with each growing second. After a few moments, the hole where the clouds had been circling ripped open and shot down a small and narrow beam of light towards the Excalibur. The moment it touched the blade, the small gemstone mounted inside the hilt of the sword begun to glow a very bright red. As the skies begun to return back to it's calm, normal state, eleven strange ghost-like archways begun to appear around the altar - rotating around in a circular motion. As the archways became clear, strange numbers and symbols were engraved on the top of them - II with an Emperor, to XII with an armored being. The archways themselves were made out of marble, and had beautiful symbols and swirls around them. In astonishment, Cecil walked towards the nearest one towards him - XII, and felt the well-done marble structure. His fingertips moved in and out of the swirls going around the archway, until he met where he couldn't reach. This surely was not man-made. As King Cecil felt the arches in disbelief, the Warrior of Light spoke up.

"There are a few damaged arches, due to the current events - but some have been damaged for as long as I can remember. Arches IV, VII, VIII, & IX are in-accessible at this current moment in time - because of Ultimecia's existence... whilst II, V, & XI have always not worked, so something must have happened which has broken the gateway to their worlds."

"... Wow... this is... impossible - no... ridiculous is the word..."

As the Warrior of Light stood stern and bold, Cecil looked just like a small child as this un-believable phenomenon. Taking a look at all of the archways, he noticed one marked "VII" with the engraved symbol of a Meteor upon it. The moment he touched it, he felt that it was his world. How it pained him that he could not go through it. As Cloud moved away to be by himself for a few moments, Squall took a quick glance at all of the symbols above the doors - noticing the symbol above the archway marked "VIII" featured himself holding Rinoa. It brought a silent tear to his eye, which made him turn away from it and everyone once again to wipe his eye. Zidane on the other hand looked around at all of the arches, finding his own, with a picture of the Crystal, before sitting in front of it to gaze through the empty space between where the archway was to the horizon across the land. Everyone seemed to take the time they had to be with their thoughts, whilst the Warrior of Light gazed up at the clear blue sky - making him feel whole. Turning towards his new companions, he spoke with a very bold tone of voice.

"I do not wish to put the lives of innocent people in danger, so I ask for you not to come with me. However, this is your journey, also. Therefor... I would be honoured if you would accompany me through this adventure of a lifetime. Outside this world, we may find anything - like new worlds, and overwhelming monsters. And if you come with me... nothing you know will ever be the same again. As I said, follow me through the archway if you feel you need to journey with me."

Pointing his Excalibur towards the door marked "III" as it was the first one that was in order and functional, mysterious bright energies emitted from the gemstone within his hilt - making the numerals become golden. Without taking at least one look towards the four young men, he placed his Excalibur on his belt before marching through - disappearing before their very eyes. Feeling that it was his duty to see things through as Ultimecia was his foe, Squall left silently, and followed through the archway - disappearing. A few seconds went by after Squall had gone. Cloud made his way towards Cecil and Zidane.

"... I hope you understand, but my memories are precious to me. I must go."

"Strife, wasn't it you who asked me if I wanted to come with you and the others? I am coming with you until the end of this journey, until we can go back home."

Smiling, Cecil turned and continued onwards towards the archway. As he watched the King of Baron march off towards the archway, Cloud Strife looked towards a very relaxed Zidane Tribal. The Genome was still sat down looking through his archway across the land.

"Are you coming too? I wouldn't be the same without you, Zidane..."

"I would dream of missing this ride for the world, Cloud. Just give me a moment, will you?"

"... Sure."

With that, the former Shin-Ra MP took out his complete First Tsurugi blade and held it in front of him, resting it on his forehead as he gathered up his thoughts. After a few moments to himself, Cloud Strife place it on his back once more before walking through the archway labelled "III". Seconds went by as the young 16-year old sat by himself in front of his world's archway. With a silent smile, he arose from where he sat, brushing his pants before taking one last look at his gate before passing through the world's gate of "III". Silence.

Seconds seemed like hours soon after the party left the altar of the Warrior of Light. The skies slowly begun to turn dark, and each and every cloud seemed to catch the darkness, during dark grey - almost as if they were being corrupt. A blinding flash of lightning struck in the distance. Soon after, the patter of rain begun to fall. Within seconds, the whole area and afar were covered in the darkness of the storm and became drenched by the violent rain. The hills in the distance grew darker, and the Castle of Cornelia in the distance was covered by the dark clouds, soon to be followed by lightning, and then rain. The strangest thing was the altar of the Warrior of Light was not hit with rain, almost as if it had an immunity to natural weather - as from an aerial view, there was a space where the rain had not fallen, and it was a full circle around the monument dedicated to the Warrior of Light. Could it be the powers of Light? Some supernatural energies? Or could the presence of the darkness from the Chaos Temple still be lingering around the area? Either way, it was one of the many un-explained mysteries of the world.

A pair of mysterious beast-like feet climbed the steps of the altar, followed by a pair of incredibly large dark boots. A red robe trailed behind the beast-like feet until they made their way to the top, and then to the centre of the altar, where the figure of Ultimecia looked towards the open gateway of "III" - with a picture of a young man dual-wielding two blades. She stood there bizarrely chuckling to herself until the dark version of Golbez she had extracted from Cecil Harvey's memories had arrived beside her side. Her yellow eyes moved towards Golbez as she tilted her head.

"... How do you feel about hunting down those infernal lokusts, and finding each and every one of the Crystals of the Worlds of Fantasy to fulfil our goal?"

"... Once we obtain the Crystals, we shall become the ultimate and supreme rulers of the universe... no... across the skies, the stars, and beyond the World of Fantasy - through time itself!!"

A very evil grin crept across her blood-red lips.

"...I like the sound of that..."

Within a blink, they both disappeared in a flash of light - leaving no trace of their existence behind in Cornelia.

Darkness. The eternal abyss. Some would call it Hell, or to some, Heaven. Deep within a mysterious and darkened area of a mysterious world, the blood-stained walls of a large castle drip down and onto the floor. Footsteps echoed through the hallway of a single man. With a large blood-stained sword in his left hand, the male in black leather walked down a flight of stairs before ending up in a large throne room with many candles. His dim shadow passed along the floor as his long silver hair trailed by. With each step, the more antagonizing he seemed, with no increase or decease of speed. Passing by 3 sets of large glass-stained windows, the enigmatic dark male knelt down in front of an occupied throne. Within the corner of the throne room floated a mysterious woman-shaped figure. As she slowly came out of the shadows, her long hair seemed to float. Her partially nude body let out a very dim reflected as the candle light met her skin. With a heart-shaped symbol upon her forehead, the dark woman made her way over towards the male who had entered, and joined him in kneeling down towards the throne. Whoever was sat in the throne was covered by the darkness of the lack of light coming from the candles. The only thing that was just about visible were crossed legs with golden metal boots and the bottom of a sceptre being held by a purple gloved hand...


	4. Dirge

_In a flash, the things you hold close can disappear - vanish like a lost thought. Life-long trust can turn on you. Blood can betray you, and the future you foresaw - gone._

Through the golden ivories of a field, the enigmatic Warrior of Light marched onward towards a small, distant town in his view. This world was one of the most peaceful, or at least, on this small air continent. It had almost been approximately one year since the Onion Knight - a young boy from the small town of Ur, stopped the psychotic wizard Xande, and continued on into the World of Darkness to defeat the Cloud of Darkness once and for all. Without any evil within the world, it remained so very peaceful. Tilting his head towards the sound of footsteps treading on the grassy plain coming towards him, the Warrior of Light noticed two of the men. As usual, he wasn't exactly surprised when the sight of Squall Leonhart and Cloud Strife came into his vision - nobody seemed to not want to stay away from the dangerous mission of the Warrior of Light - not now, not ever. Turning back, his bowed his head whilst he kept his eyes gently closed. Holding the hilt of his Excalibur with both hands, the enigmatic Knight took it out and held it towards his face. His body was a still as a statue as he stood in the middle of the field. It was not until Strife's footsteps came extremely close to him, he would drop his sword down by his side. The strange movements from the Warrior of Light made the former Shin-Ra MP became extra vigilant. About a few meters away from him, Cloud almost stepped on a bed of roses, but stopped moments before stepping on them. He had no idea why, but felt the need to not destroy them.

"... What were you doing a few moments ago?"

"Nothing important. You wouldn't understand my abilities."

"Try me."

"... I am a blessed Knight with the power of Light. With the power of Light comes great responsibilities. I only try to do the right thing to help benefit those in need - not myself. What you saw me doing was using my holy powers to see into very near future events. It only happens rarely... and I feel that we must be on our guard - something is bound to happen later on..."

As he finished, Cloud's facial expressions showed that he was in no worry to face anyone any time. A little far back, Squall Leonhart kept himself to himself, keeping a more defensive look about himself - whilst Cecil took his time to enjoy the sights. He rarely had time to go out of Castle Baron as he was the King, and so missed the action and adventure he once had. Emerging from the archway, Zidane took a long stretch before dashing towards Leonhart in curiosity. The gateway between the worlds faded away for the moment.

"Hey, Squall. You seem a little down... what's up?"

Nothing came from Squall.

"Oh, c'mon! You can tell your ol' pal, Zidane, huh? Turn that frown upside down!"

Not even a reaction came from the SeeD. The Genome's attempts to make Squall come out of his protective sphere didn't work, and so he slipped away from Squall for the moment and made his way towards Cecil - joining him in the sight seeing. The SeeD bowed down his head and look towards the ground, his dark brown hair coving his eyes. Marching onward, Cloud Strife kept a close eye on their new party member. He was a strange and mysterious one. Little did the former Shin-Ra MP know - the blessed Warrior of Light could sense some negative energy radiating from a few people within the group. For one, he knew the quiet and head-strong Squall was in a bad way ever since he found out about a few minor and major details about his sorceress - but somebody else in the group was a little negative. Eventually after a few minutes, the Warrior of Light deduced that the other was Cloud Strife. Whenever he had the chance to see the rest of the party, the sight of a glaring Strife came into view. Sparking a conversation, Cloud spoke directly towards the Warrior of Light - who was approximately a meter away in walking distance.

"... So then, Warrior of Light, have you got anything to share with us about yourself? Past adventures as such?"

"... I was born through the light itself. I was called to Castle Cornelia with no memories of my past - and only bared a blue crystal around my neck. The King of Cornelia believed that the legend of the Light Warriors was becoming true, that I was the prophesied Warrior of the Light. His daughter had been taken by a his best Knight, Garland. During my travels, I encountered many fiends, monsters, and dragons - all of which fell to my blade, the Excalibur. Eventually arriving at the Chaos Temple, I battled against Garland - knowing that the fate of the world and Princess Sarah's life was at stake. After endless fighting, I proved victorious. After returning to the Castle with her, the King was grateful and wished me well on my journey. From their, I fought 4 elemental fiends which controlled the element of each crystal. After they were defeated, I learned of a pact that Garland had done in the past - allowing him to never die, almost like a paradox. It would turn out that Garland was the host of a supreme dark god known as Chaos, a being with such terrible dark magic that even the smallest glimmer of light could not survive if I was to be destroyed. I won, and vanished from the world of Cornelia to be in a state of trance - or hibernation, where my physical self would be in the middle of light and darkness, and my spiritual being would walk the earth. I would awaken once more if the worlds were to be under threat of pure evil. That is my story."

It was an awful lot to take in, and it seemed like no lie. Cloud had been outfoxed by the Warrior of Light. His story was so bullet-proof that the former Shin-Ra MP dropped back a little, almost side-by-side with Leonhart. They both marched onward with the rest of the group silently, both with their arms crossed. As they took their first steps into the town of Ur, they all received a lot of stares. Wherever they looked, people were looking at them and whispering to each other. Steeping up, the Warrior of Light stood further in front of the other 4, and closer towards the civilians. An elderly gentleman stood out of the crowd and made himself known, standing face-to-face with the Warrior of Light.

"I am Elder Topapa. Please, no trouble. What business do you have here?"

"We are not here to cause trouble. In actual fact, we have arrived to see the one you call 'Luneth', 'Lunes' - or as I know him as 'Onion Knight'. If you would be so kind as to let him know that I have arrived, then I am sure that we can make our stay as quick and as easy as possible."

The other heroes watched as the Warrior of Light dealt with the current matter at hand, asking the village elder to let someone, who he seemed to know, know that he had arrived. They watched in suspense as the elderly man slowly made his way inside the small house that stood beside the village entrance - shutting the wooden door behind him, leaving a small gap. Seconds flew by as everyone waited in silence, and the villagers chattered among themselves. There wasn't many people around, but it was enough for a normal sized village. Squall Leonhart was the most talked about by the villagers, as his very sight seemed to cause a discussion. Eventually hearing his name, Squall looked up towards the villagers with a rather dark and cold look in his eyes - sending chills up and down their spines. And even though he was the most talked about person, Cloud's First Tsurugi was the most talked about weapon. It looked strange to the many people in the village, and more of a Great Sword-type weapon to the others. However to Cloud himself, the First Tsurugi was something that represented his 'family' - with each piece building a greater entity. But the one who sparked the most discussion was the appearance on the mysterious Warrior of Light - a man who seemed to have something about him that made you want to either run away from him if you were a fiend, or go and shake his hand and bow in front of him. When the elder eventually resurfaced onto the scene, a very satisfied look came about the Warrior of Light's face.

"I've told young Luneth that someone you would like to see him, and he said that you should go north from the village until you find an entrance to a cave. He'll be waiting in there for you."

As Elder Topapa finished, Cecil looked at him as confused as can be.

"... But if you have spoken with him, then why do we have to go north?"

"The Elder has powers that can telepathically reach Onion Knight through a single thought."

Yet again, the blessed Knight knew more than what he let onto. Standing astonished at this, the King of Baron flicked his hair away from his face. He had witnessed many things back on the Blue Planet, but these new worlds were introducing things to him that even he could not quite understand as well as his comrades. The elder smiled in delight as the Warrior of Light understood the abilities of the village elders, and circumstances of what had to be achieved. With a stern face, the Warrior of Light didn't even seem to crack a smile - just a nod with a face of stone.

"Whilst you're here, how about some refreshments?"

"I'm sorry, but -"

"... Sure thing, I'm starved!"

Interrupted by Zidane who appeared up on the roof of Elder Topapa's house, the blessed Knight scowled at a rather care-free Tribal who jumped down from the roof and landed beside the Elder. Cloud Strife smiled to himself as the Genome's true personality seemed to be showing through once more, who was also joined by Cecil who looked away for the moment as he quietly chuckled to himself. On the other hand, Squall seemed to show no emotion whatsoever towards anything - and seemed to become more like the Warrior of Light with each and ever passing second, with the exception being that Leonhart had a reason to be down, other than the Knight who was naturally intimidating. Smiling, Elder Topapa turned towards a very joyous Zidane.

"Alright then, come inside whenever you feel like it. And good luck to you four, too."

With the Elder directing his words to the rest of the party, he made his way inside - closely followed by Zidane. Cecil's voice was suddenly heard by the Genome.

"Zidane. I'll be going with the Warrior of Light to the Cave located up North. When you're done, please re-join us."

"Don't worry, I'll be done before you know it!"

Waving, Zidane left their sight as the door closed behind him. A few seconds went by as the villagers went back to their usual routines, and as the party absorbed what just happened. With one man left behind, Cloud walked by Cecil, and then the Warrior of Light, before tilting his head to see them.

"... Well? What are we waiting for? Let's go."

"Indeed. Let us find the cave where this 'Onion Knight' is. I'm sure that the Warrior of Light will know the way, and perhaps Squall can shed some life?"

Cecil's words made a slight impact on Squall as he decided to take a simple breath before walking onwards with Cloud as he left the Warrior of Light and the King of Baron behind a few meters. Still hardly any reactions seem to come from Squall. Who knows what thoughts ran through his head - but still, he tried his best to accept his duty and dive himself onward. With the two holy warriors left alone for a second, the curious King posed a question to blessed Warrior of Light.

"... Do you have any idea what's wrong with Leonhart?"

"I am uncertain, but the odds weigh in the favour of the fact that he could be battling his inner demons. However, that is only what I see. What can you see?"

"To be honest, Warrior of Light... he seems a little like how I used to be - questioning the reason as to why he fights. He is just like how I was once before... as a Dark Knight..."

With that, Cecil walked through town the way Cloud and Squall went through. As the Warrior of Light stood alone at the entrance of town, his sky blue eyes were closed very gently as he held up his Excalibur towards his face, and said a prayer to himself. As the two males dressed in black leather left the town, and continued towards a group of mountains in the far distance, the former Shin-Ra MP took this time alone with Squall to share some personal advice.

"... Hey, Squall. I can see that you've been in a lot of thought lately, and I'm pretty sure I know what it's about. The same thing happened to me one time, but I fooled myself into believing I was somebody who I wasn't. Don't take the same road I took, and try to tackle your problems head-on."

It took a lot of time, but eventually the voice of the SeeD was finally heard.

"... Tackle them head-on...? Easier said than done."

After a lot of effort, the SeeD every now and then showed some emotion towards current matters at hand, and within that time, the party had almost reached the Cave located within the mountains. However, their current location was within a very large, very wide plains surrounded by mountains. A few airships flew over-head from time-to-time, and it was glorious to see such things suspended in flight. They were quite impressive, but Cecil's, Cloud's, and Squall's worlds had much more advanced form of airships. Even without Zidane, the party was doing very impressive up against the fiends this world had to offer. The Warrior of Light even showed off a few of his fancy sword techniques of his whilst taking on multiple enemies at once. To the rest of the party, they thought he was just showing off. As they came closer towards the mountains towards the north, the smaller the village or Ur was. Many Chocobos raced by in the grasslands during their long walk north. Squall didn't seem to show much of any emotions outside of fighting, but during his battles, it just went to show how much hold it had over his life. With each and every swing, Squall's eyes burned with the passion of which his power came from. It was inspiring for people like Cloud, and Cecil about how much dedication he had towards his battles - whilst to the Warrior of Light, he saw him as a toddler trying to use a Broadsword. Towards the Cave entrance, the Warrior of Light felt something familiar emitting from within.

"... I feel the powers of the Onion Knight coming from within. And something... within his possession. Come, he awaits our arrival."

With that, the enigmatic Warrior of Light marched through the entrance and continued down a very long set of steps leading down into the darkness below, and towards a room casting a brilliant and glorious green luminous light. The tapping of their footsteps echoed throughout the Altar Cave itself, until they stepped upon a very flat surface. The party was almost blinded by the green light from the room as it came into full frontal view. The glow of a very large light green colored crystal came into view, of which was behind a figure in indigo. The Warrior of Light stepped towards the figure, and bowed towards him. Squall, and Cloud came into the room and spread themselves around it, keeping a distance whilst Cecil stood closely behind the blessed Knight. Following the bow, the Warrior of Light looked at the small teenage-like figure in indigo with a face of steel.

"Onion Knight - I presume."

With the figure now identified as Onion Knight, Cloud and Cecil watched as the two exchanged their welcoming's with each other - whilst Squall leaned up against the wall staring at the ground of rocks. Turning around, the Onion Knight saw the Warrior of Light. His cream-colored cape fluttered in the air as he swiftly turned to see them. The ginger hair of the Onion Knight was barely visible due to his indigo helmet.

"Huh...? I'm pretty unsure that I don't know you... But you seem a little familiar to me - and I feel as though I've trusted you all my life... Yes, my name is Onion Knight to several people, my birth name was Luneth, and my friends often call me Lunes. Please tell me why you and your friends are here - I'll be pretty interested to hear what you've got to say.'"

The lime green eyes of the Onion Knight wondered around the room where the Wind Crystal was kept, examining the other three men within with great interest. Even with a glance, he could tell that they were not from around these parts, and that they came with the Warrior of Light under some sort of mysterious reason. It was almost as if he wanted to green them with open arms and say 'welcome back', or shake their hands and say 'nice to meet you'.

"My name is the Warrior of Light. I was brought back to my world because something was not quite right with it. These four young men are from different worlds, and they came into my world through some kind of dark hole - teleporting them to my world. We presume that an enigmatic woman known as Ultimecia is behind all this, but we currently do not understand her intentions. Tell me, have you had any mysterious visitors lately?"

"To tell you the truth, I've been having strange feelings lately. I've been staying here in the Altar Cave - protecting the crystal. If my worst fears come true, then a mysterious entity known as the 'Cloud of Darkness' may have somehow returned. With the balance in light and darkness shifting once more, she may come back to finish what she tried starting a year ago. However... I really don't see how she could be back - as I, and my friends, defeated her and watched as she disappeared into the Void. So... something new could be just over the horizon."

As the Onion Knight and the Warrior of Light conversed, Cloud Strife looked at the green crystal the young Onion Knight guarded ever so closely. The mysterious green shine seemed to draw anyone who looked at it towards it, as it was so mesmerizing. The surface on which everyone stood on was seemingly made out of rock, or some sort of material similar to rock. Above them was nothing but a roof made out of soil and dirt of which held up rather well. Towards the other side of the large room was another door leading down into the dark depths of the Altar Cave, which held no light and was in complete darkness. The crystal chamber itself was more of a circular shape than anything else, and was large enough to be the size of a normal sized house, which could easily fit a lot more people. The dark brown medium-length hair of Squall Leonhart covered his eyes as he gazed down onto the stone floor. He looked as cold as ice as he continued to gaze into cracks of the floor, not even taking a glance at any of the other people within the chamber. As for Cecil, however, he was more interested in both the Wind Crystal, and the mysterious Onion Knight. Continuing, the Onion Knight spoke once more.

"I know for a fact that it's not just my imagination, as the Wind Crystal here has been playing up lately. It's as if she's sick..."

"Sick? How so?"

"Well... It's a little difficult to explain... but... she seems to give off negative radiations from time to time - almost as if she's rejecting my help."

Standing confused and quite concerned, the Onion Knight placed his hand on his chin to think. Feeling like outcasts, Cecil and Cloud made their way towards the Warrior of Light and into the conversation, rather than being left out of the current matters at hand. Cloud decided to speak first, making the Warrior of Light turn and glare.

"... What's with the Wind Crystal? What exactly does it do?"

"Well, the Wind Crystal is one of the elemental crystals of my world. It doesn't do anything - it's harmless, and that's what makes it brilliant. I personally call her the 'Eternal Legend of the Wind'... but then again, that's what some people now call me since I saved the planet. Still, she seems to like that name - I can feel her fondness of it."

"Cloud, Luneth seems to have hit the nail on the head - as it were. That crystal is one of many life-sources of this world... and therefor in other worlds, their crystals are their life-sources. For example, the Warrior of Light holds a crystal around his neck - and with that crystal in his protection, his world is under no threat of Ultimecia or any other form of evil. However..."

The King of Baron stood still for a moment as he gathered up his thoughts and placed them in his mind's eye - like a puzzle. As the different pieces were slotted into their places, a few holes still remained. As Cecil looked as the Onion Knight's crystal, Cloud looked on as Cecil's face - noticing something was troubling him. Almost instantly, the Warrior of Light had figured out the missing piece of Cecil's incomplete puzzle within his mind.

"... However, you and your friends do not hold crystals yourselves. This is understandable, Paladin. From the moment I first laid eyes upon you, Leonhart, Strife, and Tribal, I must say there was something very odd about you all. Now I understand."

As the Warrior of Light paused, his head turned towards the Onion Knight, nodding, before looking into the eyes of both the Paladin and the former Shin-Ra MP.

"All of you, are the hearts of your worlds. You are your own world's crystal."

Upon hearing this information, Squall's head looked up and towards the vary face of the enigmatic Knight - who soon noticed Squall's sudden interest as he begun to move towards the group. Finally, the SeeD had figured it all out. As the heart of his world, Ultimecia would need a way to come back in order to take his world's crystal. If she were to command it, then his world would certainly be under the sorceress' control and therefor her goal of time compression would be successful. And with the crystal at her possession, nothing would be able to stand in her way and survive to tell the story. All the slots were being filled in ever so slowly, but the more they came together, the more everything became understandable. With Leonhart's involvement with the group suddenly coming back into action, Cecil and Cloud noticed him joining in once more.

"... So, what you're saying is that me, Cecil, Cloud, and Zidane are our world's crystals? How does that work, exactly?"

"The radiation of mysterious energies emitting from you all were the signs of something involving great and powerful energies within your hearts. Once you left your worlds, you became the crystals of your worlds since you saved it, the crystals of your worlds selected you as their overall superior - and their only hope of restoration if they would fall in darkness. Do you understand, Leonhart?"

"... Whatever... I understand it all now, and that's all that matters."

With Squall back to his usual self, Cecil let out a silent sigh of relief and happiness - whilst the former Shin-Ra MP shed a slight smile to himself, soon disappearing with a few seconds. It was unfortunate that Zidane was not here to witness Squall's reformation. A very deep and dark laugh came from within the crystal chamber.

"You understand it all, now? Ha! There is more to our plan that you would ever know!"

A dark ball of energy was flung towards Squall, who quickly evaded it, only to let Cloud take out his First Tsurugi with incredible speed and slice it in half - exploding. Around the Altar Cave was a very strange electric field, and it was surrounding the young men within. Upon hearing the very familiar voice, Cecil's reactions came as quick as a Chocobo in a race.

"... That voice... No... it can't be..."

"Ah, Cecil! Allow me to give you a gift to commemorate our meeting once more..."

The dark clad in armor suddenly appeared in front of the crystal, swinging his right arm way out towards the side - summoning multiple dark energy spheres, hitting Cecil. In very fast timing, the King of Baron transformed into his Dark Knight form and absorbed in the dark energies. After ridding the darkness, Cecil Harvey looked towards where the darkness had come from - of which nobody was there. He reverted back to his Paladin form.

"Cecil, look out...!"

As Cloud's voice reached the Paladin's ears, he felt a very strange and un-comfortable breeze behind him. Appearing behind him, Golbez closed his hands into fists, then opening them to unleash as very powerful blast of lightning towards his brother. Moments before he could do this, a very swift Strife dashed towards him, swinging his First Tsurugi violently at the clad in dark armor. Just about noticing him, Golbez re-directed his lightning towards Cloud - who dropped down onto 1 knee an held up his blade horizontally to protect himself.

"No... I cannot fight my own brother, never again... Brother, why are you doing this?!"

"... Because that's all he knows - to fight, to hate, and to die."

The new voice came from the female sorceress who floated up by the left side of the Altar, appearing next to Squall. Sharing a rather pleasant, yet deadly grin, her luminous yellow eyes gazed into Squall's as he glared back at her with the rage of 1000 warriors within him. Instead of letting his rage get the better of him, Squall Leonhart decided to play it calm and cool before rushing into a fight.

"... Why are you here? What do you want...?"

As the SeeD posed questions to the sorceress, her Golbez took the fight into his own hands - taking on the rest of the party. Taking out his Onion Sword, the Onion Knight took the hilt with both hands before dashing towards the dark son of Kluya. At the same time, the Warrior of Light had already launched an attack on the dark being well before Cloud had blocked the lightning-based attack, and was met with a wave of darkness thrown at him. As he dodged it, the blessed Knight dropped down beside Cecil - throwing his shield at the dark being like a boomerang. Swiftly pacing towards Golbez, the Onion Knight dived over Cecil, landing on the shield, and striking the dark being. Blasted back, Cecil's brother hit the wall behind him with a thunderous thud before dropped down to one knee.

"You SeeDs are all the same. Always asking questions... But I'll gladly answer them for you."

Spinning around, the Onion Knight jumped off of the shield as it returned back to the Warrior of Light, and dived in the direction Golbez had been thrown back. As the clad in dark armor looked up, the image of Cloud racing towards him with his blade in his hands came into view - as well as the young Onion Knight flying over Strife's head. In reaction, Golbez floated up slightly off of the ground before moving his left arm over his lower face, and hitting the Onion Knight back into the wall on the other side with tremendous force.

"SeeD... I have come to this world to kollect the Wind Krystal - the heart of this world. Without it, this world would surely krumble without it's life-source. That is why the young Onion Knight here was guarding it."

The King of Baron watched in horror as his dark brother faced off against his new comrades with so many thoughts and feelings running through his mind. Cecil could do nothing to his brother, except watch as Golbez appeared power-hungry - almost possessed like when he was a pawn to Zemus. With his shield back on his left arm, the blessed Knight quickly made his way towards Golbez, who reacted in Cloud's attempt to strike him with another powerful blast of lightning - hitting him, and throwing the former Shin-Ra MP on the floor beside the Wind Crystal. The First Tsurugi flew out of Strife's hand, and shunting it's way firmly into the wall of dirt and soil near the entrance. As the Onion Knight recovered from his hit, the young boy was quick to run on the side of the wall, diving towards, holding onto the hilt of the First Tsurugi in the wall, and rapidly spinning himself as he was building up power and speed. Finally releasing his hold, the Onion Knight quickly Job Changed into a Ninja - gaining a crimson colored blade as well as keeping his yellow Onion Sword and firing himself at Golbez as a green aura came around him.

"... And what do I want, you say - SeeD? Well it is rather simple - but it would ruin the fun if I revealed my plans to you now, wouldn't it?"

Letting out a war-cry, Cloud Strife had quickly gotten back up from the floor, and took ahold of his blade - ripping it out of the wall and taking it apart to form two blades, before charging at Golbez with both blades in front of him in a defensive position in the shape of an 'X'. Before the former Shin-Ra MP was able to strike, the Onion Knight hit the clad in dark armor with such colossal strength that when his enemy dropped down to the floor, an imprint was left behind in the dirt of the wall. As for the Warrior of Light, he had chained an attack from the Onion Knight's powerful strike - placing his shield in front of him, and allowing his Excalibur to circle around it, producing many rays of light from the shield as the light energies gathered. Golbez seemed in trouble, but like every good fighter, he had a trick up his sleeve.

"My name is Squall Leonhart - Ultimecia, just tell me what you're planning!"

As Cloud came to strike at Golbez, the dark figure disappeared, only to re-appear behind the Warrior of Light. Producing a ball of dark energy infused with his lightning, the clad in dark armor fired it at the blessed Knight, disappearing, then reappearing on the other side to fire another in his direction. The dark energies infused with Golbez's lightning trapped the Warrior of Light within the sphere of darkness before it evaporated, and throwing the Knight to the floor with a loud thud. To show where he hit, a very large crack in the floor of the Altar Cave appeared after the Warrior of Light flopped away several times from the impact - until he lied on the floor motionless.

"Hmm... Squall Leonhart... such a nice name. Now, now, Leonhart - why find out now, when you can find out when the time is right? Tell me... why are you fighting?"

With the Warrior of Light out of action, the Onion Knight jumped towards Golbez, sending out 3 very small spheres of magic. Once it hit Golbez, it threw Golbez up towards the ceiling. As a chain of attack, Cloud Strife jumped up where he was meant to attack Kluya's dark son, rebounding from the wall where Golbez's imprint was, placing his blades together before spinning his completed First Tsurugi in a circular motion. After he had done so, Strife pointed his blade towards Golbez - releasing all of his blades to surround Golbez except for his main blade. At this moment, Strife's blades were glowing a very aquatic fiery blue color as he himself was slowly emitting a golden aura as the former Shin-Ra MP begun the Omnislash Ver.5.

"...Why I'm fighting...? I'm fighting to defeat you, why else would I be fighting?!"

As Cecil watched on as Cloud begun his Omnislash Ver.5, the Onion Knight continued to cast several spells to damage Golbez - using such magic as Flare. Blasting his way through the clad in dark armor, Strife took ahold of his first blade and piecing it with the main blade he held within his gloved right hand. Continuing, Cloud took the rest of his blades and connected them with his main blade until it was complete. Ghostly images of the blades surrounding Golbez still remained as Cloud jumped up into the air to perform his final phase of the Omnislash Ver.5 - breaking his way through Kluya's dark son, shattering the ghost-like silhouettes of his blades and landing under his enemy with all of his blades hitting the floor until all of them were around Cloud, and the final blade falling into his grasp. His golden aura soon faded.

"Ha! You fight to defeat me? What's the point in that, SeeD? Whenever you defeat me, I only come back stronger and more determined to fulfil my goal of Time Kompression... Stop this resistance, and join me - and be my knight... no... my prince - when we become the masters of space and time itself..."

The moment Cloud hit the final phase of his signature move, the Onion Knight Job Changed into a Ninja. Throwing several throwing stars, the young knight disappeared, only to re-appear above Golbez and strike the dark being with both of his blades - leaving behind a ray of light in the shape of an 'X'. Hitting the smooth surface, Golbez lay motionless as Cecil gazed at his lifeless brother. As Cloud Strife and the Onion Knight quickly made their way over to check up on the Warrior of Light, the King of Baron knelt down beside the heavily armored dark being that was his brother, gazing at the familiar armor. Shedding a tear, Cecil muttered a prayer. He could have shed a thousand tears at this moment.

"... You... your right... my attempts are useless. Whenever I try to do something right, it always comes back to get me in the end..."

"So do you accept my offer? To leave these kockroaches and join my side as my prince as we konquest to find the krystals until we become the everlasting rulers of time... reality... the whole of existance... everyone and everything?"

Slowly getting up, the Warrior of Light spoke out in desperation. Cloud, and the Onion Knight picked up the blessed Knight as he almost fell back to the floor.

"No...! Don't!"

"... Squall, don't join her! Remember what we said? About our light? Remember the light!"

Cloud's face held a very deeply concerned look as Squall stood in front of the Sorceress with his head bowed down a little in thought about what to do.

"... Shut up... I choose my own path - my own destiny. You were right, Cloud, we shape our own destinies, whilst fate is a path already set for us. As for me... I choose my own path - my own life, and my own choices... the light is nothing to me, so back off! Ultimecia... I accept. I'll join you."

The faces of Cecil, Cloud, Onion Knight, and the Warrior of Light were as shocked as anything else. Squall's new-found path had been open, and his set path was altered with Ultimecia's proposal - forming anew. Silence lay in the Altar Cave as Ultimecia and Squall stood looking at each other. As her blood red lips grew into a sinister, yet pleased smile, the Sorceress from the future raised up her purple beast-like deformed claw - creating a dark orb which quickly grew into a blinding flash, which covered the entire Crystal Chamber. As the light cleared, Ultimecia and Squall were nowhere to be seen. Everyone within the Altar Cave were as silent as the dead, of which was suddenly broken as a loud explosion came from behind the Onion Knight - sending him into a wall and knocked unconscious. As the protector the world's crystal was defeated, Ultimecia's Golbez approached the Wind Crystal, and used his telekinetic powers to absorb the large crystal, and re-shape it into a much more smaller version of it's former self - making it float in the palm of his hand before it disappeared in a flash of light when he took ahold of it. With everybody weakened by the battle, Golbez tilted his head towards his brother before speaking one last time before leaving with the world of III's crystal.

"... You are nothing to me, Cecil. Not any more."

Disembarking with Ultimecia, the dark son of Kluya faded away. Seconds went by as the group were in shock and silence about what had just happened. Too weak to even stand, the Onion Knight finally woke up, hitting the floor with disappointment of his failed duty to protect the crystal. Everyone didn't even know what to do, except gaze into nothingness. The crystal chambered was badly damage from the fight, and it was lucky that it was still intact. Without the crystal, the world of III would surely crumble in time. The only time a sound was heard was when footsteps came down the stairs.

"Hey there Cecil, Cloud, and Warrior of Light!"

It was Zidane, as his cheerful and usual self.

"Oh, hey - you must be Luneth, the Onion Knight. Nice to meet you!"

Upon further examination, young Tribal noticed something was not quite right.

"... Uh... where's Squall? And why are you all on the floor...? Did you all have a party without me?!"

In the darkened castle, the mysterious figure in golden armor, and purple gloved hands continuously tapped the edge of the throne where his hand rested - whilst the other firmly held the golden sceptre with an orb on the end of it. As for the 2 people bowing down to the royal, the male and female slowly moved their heads upward to see the darkened face of the enigmatic man. The candle light reflected light from two more mysterious figures as they entered the throne room from the left and the right, until they both stood side-by-side with the throne on either side - like guards. One of them had a dark blue cloak behind his heavily armored body, with steel armor and a helmet of which the horns went off from both sides for about a meter or so. Within his grasp, the heavily armored clad held an incredibly large blade with a split down the side, almost as if it could split in 2 pieces, and could also change into an axe. As for the other, he was also heavily armored - with the exception being that the armor was sky blue and gold, with a hint of orange, white and black. The blade this tall being leaned on had more of a scythe's hilt, and held the colors of orange and yellow. As the everlasting silence of the enigmatic royal's castle continued with the exception of the continuous tapping, a very bored look came upon the face and the purple lips of the darkened male sat in this throne...


	5. Bloodlust

_We are all mortals. Our bodies though strong, can't defy time. One day we will die. What matters most is the legacy we leave behind._

As the sky in the world of 'III' grew darker with each and ever passing second, the inhabitants of the Altar Cave were as silent as anything else. Clouds gathered in the sky and several flashes occurred, moments before the crashing sound of thunder followed closely behind. The once-peaceful continent was slowly becoming one with the rest of the world on the outside - the Overworld. The grasslands slowly begun to lose all of its flowers and vegetation - they rotted as the wild life dashed off after sensing the on-coming danger. Within the cave, the armored Knight arose as he wiped himself clean of the dust and dirt. As he took a look around, Zidane Tribal awaited an answer from his fellow comrades. Squall's betrayal was most unexpected, and continued to leave the Altar Cave in complete silence. The most shocking of the rest was Ultimecia's Golbez, as he had taken the Wind Crystal seconds before leaving. The Onion Knight held his head in shame, for he was the guardian of the crystal and it was his life to protect it. With his sworn duty now broken, the only thing that he could do was sit in the corner as he thought about the current events. In a space of his own, the King of Baron - Cecil Harvey, stood turned away from the party and the Onion Knight. His emotions were on the edge, which was very understandable. The only thing he could help but wonder was why would his brother, Theodore Harvey, be fighting for the darkness once more. Surely he wasn't under some form of mind control. Never the less, Cecil continued to deny any thought relating his brother's betrayal. Cloud Strife rose up as he took his First Tsurugi and place his on his back. He sighed to himself before making his way over towards Zidane, whispering in his ear ever so quietly.

"...Zidane. Watch what you say... we've just lost the Wind Crystal - so don't offend the Onion Knight."

Turning back as he leaned up against the entrance to the stairs, Strife continued.

"... Cecil's brother has also appeared, and is sided with Ultimecia - so leave him alone for a while."

Zidane's reply was nothing more than a nod. The Genome also decided to lean up against to wall, as he watched the Warrior of Light place his Excalibur back onto his belt. As usual, the blessed Warrior of the Light kept a serious, yet calm look upon his face during the tough times at hand.

"Cloud. Cecil. Zidane. We must push on with our journey. Squall Leonhart has joined Ultimecia, and now he is our foe - no matter what we may feel towards him. He his our enemy from now on - hold nothing back if he confront him."

As he paused, the Warrior of Light looked at the Onion Knight - silently sat in the corner.

"Onion Knight. I am sorry for your loss, but do not lose hope. I would as you to join us, but of course, that is your decision."

"... Thanks for the offer... but I'm staying right here - on my world. This world needs someone to protect it when something goes wrong, and me, Arc, Refia, and Ingus will do just that. So please - and I beg you: find and protect the Wind Crystal."

"We will do everything in out power to recover it."

The Onion Knight stood up and made his way over towards the altar where the crystal once was, and sat down on the crystal-like surface. Turning back, the enigmatic Knight looked at Cloud and Zidane by the entrance.

"Come - we journey back to my world, and from their, to the next."

With a silent nod, Cloud steadily paced up the steps and towards the outside world - closely followed by Zidane. As their footsteps faded in the distance, the Warrior of Light slowly moved towards the Paladin, unknown to what type of reaction he would get from him. As he passed by, he was unable to see his face as his silver hair covered his face as he bowed his head down. Stopping by his side, the blessed Knight placed his gloved hand on the Cecil's shoulder.

"Let us leave. Worry about your own personal matters in your own time - but right now, we must find and locate Ultimecia. But most of all, protect the next world's crystal."

The Warrior of Light's words were almost cold and careless, almost as if he didn't care about what he was going through at all. However Cecil understood what he was saying, and decided to try and keep a brave face on - not just for himself, but for the group. Without himself, no doubt, they would have been done for. Passing by the Knight, he nodded with a slight smile across his light blue lips, before pacing up the steps and chasing after the fading shadows of Strife and Tribal. Left alone at last, the Warrior of Light turned around to see the Onion Knight. It was almost as if the young boy was in a trance about the recent events, but at the same time, looked almost happy - judging from his facial expressions the Warrior of Light could barely see. With his usual look, the Knight slowly made his way towards the Onion Knight, stopping a meter away. The they both shined like two radiant stars along side the moon being held by the night sky.

"... So what will you do now, Onion Knight?"

It took some time before the young boy could find an answer.

"... I'm unsure. There is only one thing to do - and that's to protect this world at any cost... even in that cost requires my own life. There are things far greater than myself and I would gladly pay my life to save them. I fight for the right of freedom, my friends, and life... that is my life's purpose - or so I like to think. Without that... I'm practically nothing... What about you?"

"Light. Balance. Life. Existence... Everything."

"Heh.. You sound pretty important..."

Time passed as the Onion Knight enjoyed the company of the Warrior of Light, someone who he felt was new to him - but yet seemed incredibly familiar. The young boy bowed his head down so the blessed Knight could not see his face, as his indigo and silver helmet covered his face by casting a shadow over his eyes.

"But please, tell me this... why do you seem to familiar to me? You're like an old friend who I haven't seen in a long time, but yet, you feel like a stranger in the middle of the town who looks just like someone from my darkest memories... Who are you - really?"

Just like how the Onion Knight took time to come up with an answer, the Warrior of Light stood in silence. Crossing his arms and bowing his head down, the blessed Knight came up with an answer after a few moments.

"... I wish I knew that myself. Maybe, in time, we'll discover it - together. Until then..."

Moving away from the Onion Knight, the Warrior of Light turned swiftly and made his way towards the entrance of the Crystal Chamber, then pacing up the steps towards the outside world - leaving the young boy alone within the Altar Cave with nothing but his thoughts. Everybody had a connection with each other, but they would discover it together - not so far in the distant future. As it was the Onion Knight's decision to stay and protect his world, the blessed Knight respected that, and left him to shape his own destiny. The Warrior of Light certainly seemed to know what he was doing during the journey. The party of 4 would return after he would form another gateway back to his world, soon closing it up. As each and every young male of the party emerged into the Warrior of Light's world once more, they all stood within the centre of the altar of the shrine - surrounded by the mysterious archways marked with numbers and symbols.

"... So let me get this right... Squall was talking with that Ultimecia lady whilst you guys were fighting it out with Cecil's brother Golbez. But Squall disappeared with her when he accepted an agreement with her, and Cecil's brother snatched the Onion Knight's crystal he was guarding - right? Talk about a bad ending..."

Zidane Tribal scratched his blonde hair on his head for the moment as the group stood in silence. Obviously this was a depressing time for them, as a member of their party had gone off with the enemy - therefor they would have to face their traitor eventually.

"It's Theodore Harvey - not Golbez..."

"Right, right... Theodore, Cecil's brother..."

"- Please, Zidane... this is not the time. If you knew what had happened a year prior to these events, then you will know not to talk about him in that manor..."

Cecil's voice held much emotion as he tried to not raise his voice at the Genome. Theodore Harvey was under the control of Zemus a year ago, and even beyond. Understandably Cecil would know if his brother was under some sort of mind control - because then he would be out-of-character. However his brother was more like how he was when Cecil and his party, along with Fusoya, broke Zemus' control - except this time he was fighting for a cause, but something that he would not normally choose. The King of Baron mumbled to himself over and over again during his spare time. It did not add up at all. His brother was supposed to be in a deep sleep with Fusoya on the Moon - but yet he was also here. It was all enough to make him quit his journey. Cecil could never fight his brother. There were times when he did, but he did not know the truth that he had a brother - an opposite. How ironic is was - to have two sons fighting each other: one who embraces the light, whilst the other bathes in the darkness. Never the less, Cecil Harvey tried to keep himself to himself and not try to get anybody else involved in his own business - not to dirty others' hands other than his own.

"We journey to the next world."

The Warrior of Light turned towards the group who stood separated from each other.

"I am sure that you all are wondering why we are going to different worlds. There are several answers, but there are only a few that need answering. Ultimecia and Theodore are our primary concern for the moment. The other is the fact that each world has a crystal. With the crystals, reality can become fantasy, and with fantasy either comes dreams or nightmares. I do not wish to watch as each and every world slowly becomes taken by the oncoming darkness. I am sure that you now understand."

His words were a blow to the heart for the party, as the thought of their own worlds being taken by darkness made them almost remember back to their previous and last battles to protect their own worlds. Doing the exact same procedure as before, the Warrior of Light raised up his Excalibur towards his forehead - turning it so that the crimson jewel embedded within the hilt was facing the archway of 'VI'. This archway was a mysterious one, as it had a picture of a woman with a sword riding on the top of, what seemed to be, a mechanical animal. The usual golden aura emitted from the archway as it opened up fully for them to pass through. Without another word, the blessed Knight made his way through - soon to be followed by Zidane, Cloud, and then Cecil.

It was exactly a year since Terra Branford and her party travelled the World of Ruin to find old friends who survived their world breaking up into many pieces. It was a terrible year when the Court Mage of the Gestahl Empire, Kefka Palazzo, ruled the World of Ruin. Many towns perished when the psychotic and sadistic Kefka used his god-like powers, he stole from the three goddesses, to cast the 'Light of Judgement' - utterly and ultimately turning the world into a place of living hell, where it was almost inhabitable. Eventually he was dethroned and destroyed, and soon after, the World of Ruin was slowly turned back into the World of Balance. It was not as beautiful as it once was, but it's inhabitants had to live and make do with what they had to rebuild and make their world a batter place - for themselves, for the wildlife, for the world, for generations ahead, and for the future itself.

Emerging from the portal generated by the Warrior of Light's mysterious powers from his legendary blade, they all appeared in front of an incredibly large steel gate. It was the Esper Gate - a doorway to and from the world of the Espers, now fully sealed with magical energies merged with human technology on both sides. It was a shame that the Humans and Espers could not get along - together, they would have been a great asset to each other, and made both of their worlds a much better place. There was, and still is, only one link between the two civilizations - Terra Branford, half-Human and half-Esper. It was her that made the contact between both worlds, and eventually coming to the decision, with the Espers, that both worlds should remain separated - incase man or Esper ever decide to invade, destroy, or take each others lives. The sky was in sun-set, as it's golden rays slowly faded out one-by-one. The land looked beautiful - ever since the plants and vegetation begun to grow again, and animals roamed the landscape without a care in the world.

"...Wow... Nice view..."

Zidane now stood on the top of a large rock about half the size of the Esper Gate itself, and placed his hand above his eyes so that the setting sun would not blind him - and so that he could get a better look at this interesting world. As the Genome looked out far and wide, Cecil slowly made his way towards a cliff. There he would look out towards the beautiful un-contaminated waters as it reflected the marvelous rays of the golden orb in the sky, the sun. The blessed Warrior of Light stood away from the others as he tried to use his powers to see into the near future, but it would not work for him. It was rare if the light would allow him to do this, but at this moment, it didn't allow him to do so. Out of sight and out of mind, the former Shin-Ra MP leaned up against the gate as he stood far back from the rest of the men - as he enjoyed the silence of the moment, with a soothing and calming breeze touching his soft face. A small rock fell down beside him which came from the top of the gate. Looking up, he noticed a young lady in a red outfit with white tights which held a flower-like pattern upon them. Her face was not visible, but her green hair was clear in the sun's rays.

"... And you are...?"

Upon hearing Strife's voice, the Warrior of Light turned his head towards where his voice was - then looking up towards where a shadow of a female figure was being cast down onto the rocky surface.

"Her name is Terra Branford. She's a cross between a Human and an Esper."

As Zidane had finished gazing at the landscape, the Genome begun to gaze at the beautiful female - now identified to be 'Terra'.

"Huh? What's an Esper?"

"I believe it's another being - something that you would call an Eidolon."

The word 'Eidolon' took the King of Baron's attention for the moment.

"... What...? Your world also has summoned creatures called 'Eidolons'...?"

"Yeah... Whoa, wait one second! Cecil, you've got Eidolons in your world, too?! Awesome - high five!"

As he raised up his arm to give a high five when he planned to jump down from where he stood, Zidane was suddenly interrupted by the female who floated down gracefully and stood beside Cloud at the Esper Gate.

"... Greetings. Please, tell me who you are. You all seem like nice people, but... I can feel you're all here for a bad purpose..."

Stepping forward as the usual leader of the pack, the blessed Knight stopped two meters away from the magical young lady. The Warrior of Light kept his usual face of stone.

"No, we are not here to cause anything that may result in something terrible. As a matter of fact - we are here to protect you and your crystal."

"... My... crystal...?"

"Yes. You were blessed with it about a year ago - were you not?"

"Of course. But... why are you here to protect me and my Magicite...?"

"An evil sorceress who wields terrible magical powers is searching for several crystals from different worlds. We believe that you are the next to be targeted, and therefor, we have come to help you protect it from their filthy hands of corruption. Please - tell me where it is."

"My crystal... is beneath this gate. I decided to live here to protect the gateway between these worlds if anyone was to attempt to break the seal... but... I trust you. Let us go to the underground shrine."

Nodding, the Warrior of Light marched in the directed where Terra walked. To the right of the Esper Gate from a frontal view, was a stairway going around the gate in a spiral until it met the ground - where there was an entrance to the inside of the large mountain-like region. As she passed by Cloud, Branford shared a very pleasant and innocent smile with him - only to get not much of a reaction from him, as he just closed his eyes. As usual, Cloud Strife went along with what was going on around him and decided to follow closely to the Warrior of Light. Since their loss of the Wind Crystal back on the world of 'III', Cloud had slowly begun to gain trust for the Warrior of Light. The enigmatic Knight was much like him, but then in a way he wasn't. There were many unexplained reasons for him to not trust the mysterious Warrior of Light, but the reasons were slowly becoming one with the light and turned into trust as each and ever one evaporated within his mind. If young Strife was being honest, he actually did not mind the Warrior of Light as much as before. The only thing that bugged him was the fact that their new party member appeared to know almost everything within a short space of time when they occurred - almost as if he had known about it ever since the beginning. The King of Baron felt that the Warrior of Light has always been a lone-wolf type character - thus shaping how he views things, and his personality almost being cold. The Paladin followed behind Strife, soon to be followed by the Genome - Zidane Tribal. Almost laid-back as always, Zidane was more or less the type of person to help get people to talk and unwittingly get them out of their protective frame of mind and physical appearance. The moment they approached the entrance to the inside of the mountain-like area underneath the Esper Gate, the Warrior of Light felt a strange and familiar force coming from the area. The look of concern was mounted upon the faces of the party - and the half-Human, half-Esper. She was the first to notice, and therefor spoke out of curiosity and concern.

"... Is... there something wrong...?"

"... No. Nothing at all. It's just that something is near... something... familiar..."

Cecil Harvey sprung into action, as he jumped ahead of Cloud to pose a quick question - relating to his brother, Theodore.

"A familiar force? My brother...?"

"... Not your brother... something very... similar to myself... But please, enough of me, let us find the crystal - or Magicite as you call it, Miss Branford."

Still concerned, the young lady nodded to the mysterious Warrior of the Light and entered - followed by the rest of the group. Entering, the first thing they noticed was a dark hallway lit by candles mounted on the walls to light the way. The aura of magical energies emitted from them, therefor it was safe to assume that the spell 'Fire' was used to light them. It was a long walk through the darkened hallways which were man-made, all lit by candles. The tap of each person's feet echoed through the area they were all in, and the many hallways they passed by. There was only one entrance to the inside of the mountain, but an awful lot of room-like areas within - however it was unknown as to what was inside them when they passed by. The mountain itself was a spiral-like shape, as just was the final area within towards a large golden room down below which gave out it's radiant light. The party could not quite see what was inside it yet as they continued to walk the spiral stairs. Eventually coming to the golden room, Terra made her way inside to see if it was safe and not under attack by this 'Ultimecia'. A few moments passed. The group awaited patiently as she disappeared for the moment, only to return - smiling to let them know to follow her. Nodding, the Warrior of Light marched through the golden hallway towards a golden platform which had steps leading up towards an altar, followed by the rest of the party. The crystal's condition was currently unknown as it was above their view. Pacing the steps, the Warrior of Light suddenly drew his Excalibur from his belt after noticing a figure standing where the Magicite was supposed to be. Upon hearing the blade being drawn, the figure arose from where it sat, and turned to see them.

"...What...? How can this be?"

The Warrior of Light stood astonished as the figure was a female, with green hair, and wore the exact same clothing as Terra. No - it was Terra. There were two of them. The Terra Branford who had been sitting on the altar looked at the group of people, then towards her copy.

"... What's... going on here...?"

The Terra copy sighed, then chuckled to herself.

"Oh well..."

The Terra doppelganger's image burst into black feathers, revealing a new form, and therefor changing her image.

"... I guess the kat's out of the bag..."

Ultimecia became known to all within the golden crystal chamber. Jumping back, the Warrior of Light pointed his blade towards the sorceress in his usual battle stance - whilst Cloud took out his First Tsurugi from his back, and held it in his usual fashion. The Dark Knight-now-turned-Paladin, Cecil, took up his lance-like weapon, which suddenly turned into red blade - the Sword of Legend. The young Genome appeared on the other side of Ultimecia, standing in front of Terra with his two daggers drawn, and stood in a defensive stance. As for the real Terra Branford herself, a very thin blade appeared within her grasp - almost like a longsword. The moment she took up a defensive form of fighting, the armored dark clad known as Golbez appeared by the entrance of the golden crystal chamber with his arms folded and floated inches from the golden floor - to keep it's inhabitants within with no escape route. The sudden appearance from Theodore took Cecil's attention once more, and therefor drifted from the group and steadily made his way over towards his elder brother. Everybody was distracted by Cecil's sudden lack of attention to the battle, and turned to see him - only to get blasted away and thrown towards the walls of the chamber by Ultimecia's supreme sorceress and time magic. Only Terra and Cloud remained standing as the others were gone from the altar. Zidane's image flew past lady Branford as a purple orb generated around the sorceress, which exploded and created a powerful blast which sent him crashing into the golden wall with such might which made an exact imprint of him the moment he slumped down to the golden floor. His daggers were thrown to the ground along with his body.

"... Brother... why do you fight us so...?"

The Warrior of Light's body was suddenly flung in Cecil's direction, flying past him and hitting the wall a meter away from Golbez. It was almost as if the King of Baron did not notice the blessed Knight hitting the wall in front of him, or even the bone-cracking sound and loud grunt made by him as he dropped down to the ground moments after hitting the wall. He lay there motionless, with only his heart beating. The blue armor of the Warrior of Light was largely dented by the immovable object. A considerable amount of paint was lost by the force of impact from his armor, as well as a few large scratches on his face when he hit the ground. A spec of blood fell down from one large scratch on his cheek, and touched the golden floor. Never before had he bled.

"Cecil... join me. I personally do not wish to fight you - nor do you wish to fight me. But I will if it comes to that. Join your brother for the greater cause... let the worlds of fantasy know the Harvey family name when we rule them as brothers..."

The only person who was able to fully withstand the blast by Ultimecia was Cloud Strife, former Shin-Ra MP - but only just. Swinging his blade with such strength, young Strife's eyes burned with passion. The moment he swung at the sorceress, her image disappeared - only to appear as several other copies surrounding him. His eyes said it all - he was done for. Ultimecia and her copies raised up her beast-like hand and opened up her palm - unleashing several purple arrow-like magical energies. Unable to block them all, Cloud was struck by the hundreds of arrows, which made him drop his First Tsurugi on the altar due to the amount of pain he was sustaining. With each passing second, Strife's cries of pain grew louder - which only made the sorceress and her copies smile with delight. With each and every amount of pain inflicted onto her victim, Ultimecia only enjoyed watching them suffer which often led to her powers only increasing. Sometimes she would do this and continue until her prey would be nothing more than a pile of bones, but stopped and watched as the former Shin-Ra MP fell backwards off of the altar, hitting the floor below with a loud thud. It was unknown as to how Cloud landed, therefor he may have been seriously injured by the fall - and not just the attacks.

"Brother... what's happened to you...? I thought you wanted to atone for your past - for your sins... with Fusoya... don't you remember...?"

Ultimecia now turned towards Terra Branford who stood incredibly still. As a matter of fact, the half-Human, half-Esper was completely paralysed by the sorceress' powers. Her glare was enough to make the young lady's spine shiver. The only thing that Terra was able to move were her eyes - and nothing more. The mysterious sorceress moved her right hand towards Branford's green hair, taking a feel of the strange colored hair - them moving her purple deformed beast-like hand down the left-hand side of her young and soft face. As Ultimecia finished, her crimson lips held her casual sinister grin as her luminous yellow cat-like eyes stared deep into hers. Moments passed by, as she was making Terra feel uneasy.

"Enough...! Cecil... either you join us, or I will have to finish this - you and your friends."

Ultimecia's Golbez was suddenly questioning himself within his dark and empty mind. She had only given him the memories that were required to make him a valuable asset to her side - his powers, Cecil's dark memories of him, and memories of Cecil himself - nothing about Fusoya, Zemus, or anything else. Naturally he would believe himself to be the real Golbez, due to his embedded belief that only one copy of anything can truly have the right to exist. A mysterious and enigmatic figure was slowly appearing behind Terra as the sorceress was using her powers to extract a familiar foe from Terra Branford's dark memories.

"... I would like to hear your kries of pain... And of kourse - give these lokusts back a memory or two..."

The moment she clicked her fingers, the paralysing effects wore off and the half-Human, half-Esper begun screaming with incredible might. This only fuelled the sorceress' bloodlust, and decided to make the extracting process slower. Ultimecia was such a careless and cruel woman. Terra's emotions were becoming incredibly unstable with each passing second. Electrical energies were flowing through her body, and added to her pain. The cries turned into howls as the sorceress from the future was attempting to force the activation of the Esper-side of Terra, and tried to make her suffer an awful lot more by un-doing the power she had to keep it under control. With a flash of white light, Ultimecia's eyes widened as the Esper-side of Branford was unleashed. Unable to control herself, Terra was held still by the sorceress as the powers of her Esper inheritance were suddenly becoming a rival force with that of Ultimecia's. With the extraction nearing its end, Ultimecia let the young lady go from her grasp and watched as the exhausted young Terra dropped down to the floor where the Magicite appeared the moment she was defeated. Along with the Magicite, the figure of a clown-like figure was finally made clear from Terra's memories. Unfortunately Cecil and Golbez was unable to see the extraction process, and therefor not knowing about the terrible truth that they were not actually truly related, nor was Golbez the real version of himself.

"No... I will not join you - nor will I fight you. This is a fight where neither of us can win. My allegiance is here... with my friends!"

Without a word, Ultimecia's Golbez disappeared from sight as his image suddenly faded away. As for Ultimecia herself, he took ahold of the crystal of the world of 'VI', then turned her attention towards the last remaining warrior still standing - Cecil Harvey. Before she was able to attack, the figure of the colorful Kefka Palazzo finally became one, and laughed psychotically as he raised up both of his pale arms, and pointed towards Cecil - sending out several blasts of mysterious dart-like energies. Dark-wind moved around the mountain towards the chamber.

"... It has moved..."

It would be a back-attack, and a very underhanded and dirty move - that is of course if a shadowy figure had not appeared by the doorway, and dived towards Cecil. The blast by Kefka disappeared into the darkness of the spiral staircase, letting out a loud explosion a second later. The moment Cecil was taken down to the floor, the dark cloaked figure pointed his encased golden arm towards Ultimecia and her new toy, then moving it towards his chest.

"Soil... IS MY POWER!!"

Strange energies flowed through the hallways and into the golden crystal chamber as the golden arm opened up to generate a fan-like machine which absorbed it in. It was very similar to Mist.

"... The Magun... has thawed..."

The Mist-like energies disappeared for the moment as the fan-like machine from his golden arm disappeared, and the golden arm itself rotated around the enigmatic man's arm and attached itself to it, turning itself into a gun. The sorceress and Kefka watched in confidence as this one-man-army pointed his gun-like weapon at them.

"The Soil Charge Triad to use on you has been decided! ... The origin of all things... Mother Black..."

The dark figure took out a strange capsule filled with a strange substance inside, and flicked it up into the air, which landed inside the revolver of the Magun. This process would be repeated twice.

"... A heat that will scorch all creation... Fire Red..."

Cecil looked on helplessly as the dark figure stood overhead and took out a final capsule.

"And finally... The critical point of everything... Burning Gold..."

The Magun was finally completed.

"Burn! Summoned Creature... Phoenix!"

With one shot of the Magun, smoke clouded Cecil and the enigmatic man in a cloak of darkness. The three colors that came out of the machine, black, red, and gold, merged together as they got closer to their target. In a blinding flash, the image a Phoenix appeared and emitted a radiant and blinding flash of light - as well as fire surrounding it. Ultimecia watched the summoned creature came closer. Kefka on the other hand pretended to snore as it took its time. Finally deciding to react, the sorceress and Kefka raised up their palms and shot out magical energies towards the Phoenix - as did the summoned creature itself. The moment their magical energies hit, the sight of smoke filled the entire golden chamber. Seconds went by. As the smoke cleared, Cecil opened up his eyes to see what had happened. Ultimecia, Kefka, nor was the summon or the enigmatic man in darkness with the golden gun anywhere to be seen. With the Phoenix's healing abilities, the Warrior of Light, Zidane, and Cloud were slowly coming around from their unconsciousness - whilst Terra reverted back to her Human form and sat up, holding her head after what had just happened on the altar of the crystal chamber beneath the Esper Gate.

Thunder roared outside. The rain came falling from the sky with tremendous might. The landscape was incredibly twisted by the darkness and evil of this world. Heaven and Hell were the rulers of this world, and it's fiends were under its control. The royal's golden armor reflected the dim candle light of his throne room. The silver-haired male and the grey-haired female awaited an order as the royal sat in his throne, pondering about what he shall get his loyal minions to do next to provide some entertainment. Just as he looked like he was about to speak, a figure floated down from the roof and dropped down to one knee in front of the throne. He had a feminine-like appearance, wore a robe, and had silver-hair with a slight hint of light blue which extended down to his mid-back. He also had a small amount of pink eye-liner, and very visible pink lips. The male was also incredibly thin. Looking up after bowing down, a slight grin came upon the new arrival's face - just like the male and female behind him. The other two heavily armored clads turned their heads towards male sat in the throne. Seconds flew by as the thunder roared like a behemoth, of which they all seemed to enjoy for the moment. The partly nude female turned towards the silver-haired male in black leather and shared a very sinister grin with him, before turning back. The everlasting darkness of the outside world was just like home for these people, and loved every single moment of it. The moment the continuous tapping stopped from the royal's hand tapping throne, the royalist crossed his legs and finally spoke with much interests towards his loyal followers...


	6. Facade

_Did we become all that we are capable of becoming? Did we make the difference we came here to make?_

"... Zidane, Cloud, Warrior of Light! Please be alright!"

As the Dark Knight-turned-Paladin darted towards Zidane, then towards Cloud, and finally the Warrior of Light, his look of concern turned into happiness as he noticed Cloud rising up from the side of the altar rubbing his forehead. As for Zidane, he awoke to the sight of Terra - which for him, words couldn't describe how glorious it was. Ignoring anything coming from the 16-year old Genome, Cecil watched as their savior the Warrior of Light's eyes opened up. As they slowly did, the cuts that had been on his face were healed by the Phoenix's abilities. Offering out his hand, Cecil helped up the Warrior of Light, and gave him his Excalibur of which was by his feet. The blessed Warrior nodded to Cecil, with no real facial expression, and turned away. Deep inside his heart, Cecil Harvey could tell that their leader was almost incapable of showing emotion, but knew that he meant well. The image of young Strife taking up his First Tsurugi in it's complete state came into view as the King of Baron turned. As for Terra, she had helped up Zidane whilst picking up his daggers, and made her way down the golden steps on the altar with him. Cloud joined them as they made their way towards the Warrior of Light and Cecil by the doorway.

"I'm terribly sorry about all this... I was told by my crystal that I was to meet 5 travellers, and befriend them until the crystal spoke to me once more. However... I failed to protect my crystal..."

Bowing down her head as she passed the daggers to Zidane, he green hair covered her eyes. It was quite obvious that she was indeed most upset, but the Warrior of Light instantly came into action - speaking before anybody else could do.

"I am sorry that we could not protect your crystal, but we are the Warrior of Light. We have been assigned to locate and hold the crystals until we have each and every one of them - only then will our destiny truly begin. However, as of late, we have failed to protect two of them. There are only a select few left, and if Ultimecia and her minions gather them first, her goal will be completed - and our mission would have ended, just as time as we know it. Come, we must leave."

As the Warrior of Light took a step out of the doorway towards the stairwell, Zidane sprung into action.

"Hey, wait! We can't just leave Terra here! She has a crystal to protect, and that's what she said that she must do. So if she's to do that, then she's coming with us. Have you got a problem with that?"

"No, not at all. It is her crystal, and she was chosen to become it's guardian. If she wishes to protect it, then she can join our cause."

Turning towards her, the Warrior of Light's eyes met hers. He was considerably taller than she was, but due to their distance apart from one another, it didn't make a difference.

"Terra. Will join join us? Fight alongside us until the light banishes all evils that cloak themselves within the darkness?"

There was no second thought needed as she nodded in reaction to his question. There was nothing else left to say, and therefor the Warrior of Light led the party up the stairwell and out of the mountain towards the Esper Gate, where the archway to his world was. Throughout the journey, there was much talk among the party - mostly coming from Zidane towards Terra. Cecil and Cloud occasionally shared a few words with each other as well. Their journey was led by the Warrior of Light, of which provided nothing but total silence for the group. The next crystal was to be found at the world of 'X', at the Temple of Besaid. Upon their arrival to this world, their first sight was the sea and the sand, as well as the greenery of the forests surrounding the air never felt as fresh as the previous worlds, and almost instantly the Warrior of Light disappeared from sight as he followed the pathway leading towards a crossroad. Being the loyal knight, and former lord captain of the Red Wings, Cecil Harvey stayed close by - along with Strife who tailed loosely behind him, only to have Terra and Zidane a meter or so away.

"Hey! You guys, lost?"

Upon hearing the sound of a voice in the distance, the party's attention was directed at a male with tanned skin, with a rather oddly styled Mohican-like hair-style, wearing a yellow outfit with blue and white pattens on it, upon a giant rock. At first, all the group noticed from this man was his large grin. Stepping up as the leader, the blessed Warrior of Light addressed this man.

"... And you are?"

"Heh..."

As the man dived down from the boulder and dropped down in front of the party, he produced a blitzball from his back and spun in on his finger.

"How ya doin'? I'm Wakka, cap'n of the Besaid Aurochs."

"The Besaid who?"

Zidane was quick to answer back to Wakka, and this came as a bit of a shock to him - considering they questioned the name of one of the most well-known Blitzball teams.

"What?! You don't know who the Besaid Aurochs, the best team in Blitzball are? Haha, very funny - you had me going for a minute there..."

"No... Seriously... What is 'Blitzball', and the 'Besaid Aurochs'?"

"... Huh? You kiddin' me? You guys don't know about Blitzball? Man, where did you guys come from...?"

Before anybody was able to answer Wakka, the Warrior of Light, the usual suspect when it came to talking as the leader, spoke up.

"I'm sorry, but we have no time. Please, we need to find and locate the crystal of this world. Do you know where to find it, kind sir?"

"Sir?! Wow, nobody's ever called me that before... Well sure, i'd be happy to help ya, but I don't know anything about a crystal. Sorry man, but I'm afraid I can't be of any help to ya."

"Then thank you for your time."

The moment the party started to make tracks, the captain of the Besaid Aurochs spoke out once more.

"Oh, hey! You guys should try the village - see if anybody know about this 'crystal', ya? Just go through the forest, and you'll eventually come across a monument. Just take the far left road, and you'll find the village."

Smiling at this new information, Cecil Harvey addressed Wakka as the rest of the party made their move.

"Thank you, sir. And hopefully we shall meet once more."

"Anytime, ya?"

Fading into the wilderness, Wakka turned away and rubbed the back of his head.

"... Man... Seriously, how can you not have heard of Blitzball in this day and age...? Oh well, they looked like a shifty bunch anyway..."

It would be at least five minutes until the party had located the village. By the looks of it, it was almost as if it was thrown aside by technology and evolution, since it appeared more primitive than any of their own home towns. To Cloud, even Nibelheim was more evolved than the village of Besaid. However looks can be deceiving, and therefor they continued onward. Throughout their time arriving at the village itself, there really wasn't anything being said among the group. It was almost as if without Squall, everything had died out - which was rather ironic, since Squall didn't talk much at all. Upon their arrival, the first sight they saw was the temple that lay at the end of the village. The houses were made of animal skins, bones, and rags. But even with the amount of items used to make them, the village had a pleasant atmosphere about it - almost as if their way of living was the most peaceful, and that they didn't need any modern-day technology. The fact that no airships were present became a big surprise to all members of the party, with the exception to the Warrior of Light, since the only airship he ever rode on was the ancient Lufainian airship he acquired during his quest to stop the 4 elemental fiends.

"Everybody. Split up and search for the crystal. Ask the pedestrians if you need to. It doesn't matter what you do, but we have to acquire that crystal before Ultimecia. Is that understood?"

To the words of the Warrior of Light, everybody replied with a simple nod. Though they didn't know what the crystal looked like, it surely wouldn't be that hard to find something that reflects the image in front of it, and mysteriously emitting light - considering nothing within the village in plain view had such a thing on show. The party split up and begun to search for the crystal of the world of 'X' by themselves. It really didn't matter who found it, so long as it wasn't Ultimecia and her minions. Taking the left side of the village was Terra and Cloud, whilst on the right was Zidane and Cecil. As for the Warrior of Light himself, he decided to venture inside the Temple of Besaid. The party members were all attracting attention, due to their out-of-this-world clothing, and shifty appearance within the village. As they all searched around, the only person who stood back and watched was Cloud. As he leaned up against a broken wall, he took this time to question his reasons for fighting. Squall's sudden departure may have involved his own reasons for fighting, and thus with his change of heart, had set off a chain reaction to everybody within the party - but mostly effecting young Strife. The talk of crystals was soon spread among the villagers, and soon this turned into a treasure hunt for the children - save for a few of adults. The sound of metal footsteps echoed as the enigmatic Warrior of Light made his way inside the Temple. As he took a glance around, he quickly deduced that the crystal of the world of 'X' was not in the Grand Hall, and quickly moved onward and up the steps towards the Cloister of Trials. The Fayth of the Aeon Valefor had been long-gone since the defeat of Sin a year ago, and only recently were they under the possession of the unsent Shuyin, who's despair was enough to cause suicide to others if he was to merge with them. There was a fresh scent in the air as the Warrior of Light ventured through the individual corridors of the Trials. Turning a corner, the sight of a lift lay in wait for the enigmatic knight - of which he quickly approached, activating the switch, and continued to travel even further into the depths of the Temple. It was so far and deep down that nobody could hear you scream from the outside. As the lift touched the floor, his eyes met with a young male in similar garb as Wakka, performing tricks with a Blitzball in the distance. It was safe to assume that this person was the guardian of the crystal, since nobody would willingly isolate themselves so willingly as to being hidden from the world within a temple, deep underground.

"Excuse me..."

The Warrior of Light's words startled the young man.

"Whoa, hey there. You kinda scared me, there! So, uhh... what's with the outfit?"

"... This is the armor I was bestowed with, it is not choice. Now please, answer me this - do you know of a crystal, here on this island?"

"Hmm... You're quick to want answers. I'm been fighting off fiends from my dad's sphere since only a few days ago... Are you here to have a shot at taking it, huh?"

"I will not engage you in battle. I am here to prevent a great disturbance in the balance of light and darkness, by which involves the crystals of each world... and that 'sphere' of yours must be the crystal of this world. I will not take it by force, but if you would permit me to take it, then your contribution will lead to the safety of this world. But if you refuse to allow me to take it, then there is only one choice for me to offer you. You must come with me, and the rest of the Warriors of Light."

As he finished, the sight of the dirty-blonde young male moving away from him to play around with the Blitzball was clearly visible.

"Ahh... I hate it when people give long speeches... So what - like, you're saying that an ordinary sphere that belonged to my old man has the power to save the world? Heh, that's a good one... But then again, I guess it's a good explanation as to why Fiends have been appearing a lot lately..."

"Then will you allow me access to the crystal?"

"... Fine, fine... Come here, it's just through this door."

The young man wearily dragged himself up the steps, and through the open door to the Chamber of the Fayth - closely followed by his guest, the Warrior of Light.

"... So... what's your name?"

"I have no name. My only title is the Warrior of Light."

"Wow, no name, huh? How'd you get on in life without a name? Anywho... my name's Tidus. Pleasure to meet you."

"... Likewise."

As the two males entered the small room, Tidus made his way over towards a deep and dark pit at the end of it. Many strange runic symbols appeared and disappeared around the room at random times, which sparked an interest with the Warrior of Light. It was rare that anything appeared to interest him, since he only ever had one mission in life - and nothing was to side-track him, but this was a different matter. Turning back, the Knight noticed that a blue sphere with a white circular ring around it had manifested itself in front of the star player of the Zanarkand Abes, who at this time was on his knees with both hands in a position as though he was holding a sphere-like object. This position was what the people of Spira used to pray to the Fayth, and was also the action used to wish good luck in a Blitzball match. Though the Knight was unable to see what Tidus was doing, it was safe to assume that he was trying to either commune with the crystal, or at the very least, trying to be in-synch in it. Though this was hard to explain with words, the physical body and mind acting as one - joining with the holy spirit and soul was what was being used to accept the crystal's physical form. It may have appeared as though it was a solid object in front of him, but in truth, it was more or less an illusion projected by the pyreflies emitting from the hole that led to the Farplain. Once finished, the young man opened up his eyes, and took hold of the sphere, which gradually dematerialised within his hand. Turning back around to see the Warrior of Light, Tidus smiled peacefully in succession of gaining the crystal's form. Without another word to spare, the two marched onward and outward from the Chamber of Fayth, up the lift, and through the Cloister of Trials. Eventually re-emerging from the doorway, the two young men made their way down the steps and into the Grand Hall. This event was most disturbing for the Warrior of Light. This was far too simple. It was almost as if Ultimecia wanted them to gain this crystal. She could have quite as easily sent her minions to deal with this one, but instead they chose to stay their hands. As the blazing sun in the sky finally met the eyes of the two, their souls burned with passion as it was their destiny to stop the sorceress Ultimecia, and her minions from acquiring what their darkened hearts desired the most.

_'We may have finally obtained our true first crystal, but Ultimecia holds two within her grasp. The darkness may last for as long as a millennia, but as long as the light shines in the skies, in our hearts, in our souls, it shall always overcome that of which opposes it...'  
_

As the Warrior of Light and Tidus emerged from the Temple, they were greeted by the party who stood just outside it, awaiting his return with the crystal. Though everything was all as it seemed, they knew not of a familiar figure overlooking where they were. An emotionless face was crafted upon his face, as he continued to gaze at the party, whilst standing upon the spire of the Temple. His black leather clothing blew gently in the breeze, and his sash fluttered gracefully like a butterfly. Gunblade in hand, the young man Leonhart turned away, and faded away shortly after. Unbeknownst to him, the shadow of a built topless long dark haired man with some facial hair, wearing a bandanna around his forehead, and baring scars on every part of his body stood upon the cliff overlooking the village as he stood with his arms crossed, by his jet-black blade forced into the ground beside him.

"Heh... This is gonna be interesting..."

Meanwhile, the golden figure sat upon the throne's eyes met with the Genome's as he entered. The Emperor of Palamecia kept his usual look about him no matter who or what he was addressing, and therefor moved his hand of which was keeping his sceptre in the air onto the other arm of his throne. The throne itself was crafted in the appearance of a serpent, but yet the material made to construct this fine work of art was unrecognisable.

"Kuja. Your journey to Vana'diel wasn't a wasted one, I gather? You are still in one piece by the looks of you, and therefor I would gather their forces didn't pose much of a threat to you. Are my words your truth?"

At the exact moment of the Emperor's finishing line, Kuja's arms slowly but surely begun to wave around as his words continued to flow like a river. His movements were so theatrical that by the looks of him, it would appear as though Kuja himself believed he himself was in a performance.

"The opening act wasn't much of a problem for us, and during the course of the rest of the play, it didn't go as the enemy would have hoped for. Vana'diel itself fell under the darkness of my forces, and when the final act was to finish, I personally took care of a future situation - if any were to survive our onslaught. In the closing credits, my powers split open the land and continued to do so until the darkness poured in and through every passageway until the land of Vana'diel turned into wasteland. I think that you would agree that it was quite the number, and very-well received."

As the Genome himself released the word that he had transformed the land of Vana'diel into that of some's vision of hell would be, Mateus' purple lips turned into a slight grin. This was their mission. As of late, the Emperor of Palamecia's forces had near enough taken control of the worlds of fantasy, except for a select few. Some of the world of fantasy were too weak to withhold the immense powers of Heaven and Hell within it's world, and therefor crumbled and eventually turned to dust. With every planet under the control of the Emperor, the Empire of Heaven and Hell continued to expand. It would only be a matter of time before they held every single world of fantasy, with all life erased from their surfaces where only the Emperor himself, and his army reigned Supreme - as the ruler of life, death, the void, space, and existence itself. As the golden royal gave the 24-year old Genome the hand signal to leave, Sephiroth's head rose up to look sharply into his leige's piercing eyes. The glow of Mako energy within made his eyes the brightest of the inhabitants of the throne room - save the Fallen Knight's. The hero toyed with by fate was given the hand signal to rise, and to present his news towards the Emperor. It was something that he did, since Mateus sometimes didn't need words - or waste words, on his subjects.

"Foolish mortals. They continued to throw themselves in our way, regardless of wether they had weapon skills or not. In the end, nothing was left standing. The threat was neutralized, and the Palace is secure once more. But yet it's a mystery as to how the last surviving band of rebels titled 'the wild rose' broke in. Also... two rebels were captured. Their abilities were a lot more than their comrades', and posed a serious threat to this Empire."

The look of concern mounted upon the Emperor's face as Sephiroth finished his speech. As for the silver-haired man himself, he turned and left the throne room - knowing that his work was done, and passed on the rest of the report to the Embodiment of Darkness. As the genderless being was in the exact same position as the former SOLDIER, but on the opposite side, naturally the great ruler of Heaven and Hell would turn towards her. Regardless of the Cloud of Darkness' status of being genderless, due to it's physical appearance, it was often referred to as a female. Performing the exact same actions as Sephiroth did before her, the Cloud of Darkness arose and begun to hover as she begun to continue where the silver-haired man left off.

"Yes. We eradicated all rebel life within the palace. However, when we engaged those two rebels Sephiroth was referring to, they demonstrated powers, strength, and abilities far above that than any normal rebel - easy enough to send to the great and eternal void. At the end, we were both able to finish them off and call forth a holding cell from the depths of hell to contain them within. As for the rest of the rebels, their blood covers the walls of this palace, and their bodies are now lifeless puppets - now as residents of the void."

"Hmm... Could you possibly give a description of these rebels, Cloud of Darkness?"

"We, the Cloud of Darkness, identify one rebels as being a mime - one that can mimic the abilities of his comrades. As for the other, he was a weapons master - carrying a sword, shield, bow, axe, lance, and knives used to grapple onto objects."

"I see... I believe that it is my duty to visit these foolish insects, and offer them words of advice for the future. But still, this 'weapons master' intrigues me... I once knew someone who matches that description perfectly. He was supposedly annihilated when Castle Fynn collapsed to the ground, with him along inside it. I wouldn't be surprised if he survived, but he never the less poses as a threat. You may leave."

Bowing down in front of her Emperor, the Embodiment of Darkness floated over the crimson carpet and out of the huge iron doors that lay open, into a darkened corridor - lit by candles mounted upon the wall, at least two meters apart from one another. The Emperor's pale face showed that he was deep in thought. This 'mime' was new to him. Even though his forces had attacked and corrupted the worlds of fantasy, nothing came close to how much he thought about this mime. There may have been so many job classes out there, but the 'mime' was as new as the fresh scent of a Chocobo in a forest. But the 'weapons master' was the one who he needed to meet. Something was just urging Mateus to call forth this foe, but he still had other important things to do.

"My liege..."

As Mateus came out of his own little world within his mind, his purple eyes showed him the image of the Fallen Knight, Garland, kneeling in front of him. Throughout this entire time, he had been stood beside the throne, alongside the Evil Warlock, standing and listening to those who had information to present to his Emperor. The moment the golden royal noticed him, he nodded to give him the signal to begin presenting the results of his, and the Warlock's mission.

"... The world of 'V' has been cleansed of the evils within it. The forces of Heaven, Hell, and the Void as one erased every single fool who dared to stand in our way. We performed well enough that the world was ours for the taking... However, Exdeath's powers over the void got out of hand and swallowed the planet of 'V' whole..."

Finishing, Garland's illuminating eyes moved in the direction of the Evil Warlock, who at this time moved towards him and the Emperor. The moment he stood side-by-side with the Fallen Knight, Exdeath's dark. booming, and raspy voice echoed throughout the throne room.

"Hahaha! They feared us, like a tree falling towards a black chocobo in a forest! Their fears slowly turned and manifested themselves into the evils that formed the world, and with that, the evils added to the hunger of the void. Heh, such a feast! The inhabitants of that world fell lower than a leaf hitting the floor - they fell, and will continue to fall, forever as they now are a part of the void."

It was almost as if Exdeath didn't feel any emotion as to his own home planet being ripped apart, torn to shreds, and consumed by the void. To Garland and the Emperor, this slowly grew on them as being heartless. However, both of them knew that it was for a greater good, and continued to go along with whatever this Evil Warlock had done. The purple piercing eyes of Mateus met the darkness within Exdeath's helmet, of which were presumably eyes concealed within.

"... But surely you feel the pain of losing all that which originally gave you life, your planet?"

"That planet has returned to the void. The void is where everything begins, and also where everything ends. Why must I be sad as to losing that of which I, too, will eventually join with once more?"

Garland had heard enough of this talk of voids, beginnings, and ends, and therefor took his leaves - considering his work here was done about a minute or so ago. He huge blade was held within his right hand, and just his right hand alone, which demonstrated his physical strength. The moment his figure had faded into the darkness, and arriving into the candle-lit hallway, Exdeath had been given the signal to leave. Holding his blade within his hand, also, the Warlock slowly made his way out of the hallway, and followed down the exact same hallway the last three minions of the Emperor had gone down. Everyone had finally left Emperor Mateus Palamecia to himself, and this in itself gave him the time to plan their next assault, as well as to rest and ponder over current matters at hand. However, just as he was to do so, the shadow of the 24-year old Genome was cast on front of him as the lightning struck outside on his right. It was raining fast and hard, and it hit the stained-glass window Kuja was gazing out of. The glass itself depicted the Emperor's rise after making a deal with the devil, and eventually overthrowing him to become ruler of hell. On the Emperor's left was another stained-glass window depicting the Emperor's ascension to becoming ruler of Arubboth.

"Is there something you wish to discuss with him further, Kuja?"

"Indeed..."

Turning, the face of Kuja was hard to make out, since the light from the outside world was being cast over the back of his head.

"... If I may ask you, my Emperor... What do you intend of gaining from all this?"

"You dare question your ruler's ambitions? I hope you know that I was the one that gave you life once more... I can quite easily take it away again."

"Forgive me, my liege. It's just I cannot see what you are trying to obtain by finding absolute dominion over all. It is most unlike anything I have seen in this life, and in my past life."

"Hmph... Considering you are my most trusted general of this empire, I will bestow upon you my goal. What I wish most is a world, a universe, the whole of creation to be without fighting, without evils, without good, without crime, without meaningless destruction. It can only be obtained by what we are doing now. Does that answer your question, Kuja?"

"... I understand, my Emperor... If I can, may I be permitted to leave?"

Waving his purple gloved-hand, the Emperor allowed the Genome to leave the throne room and do what he wanted to do. As Mateus watched his most trusted general leave, the thoughts of Kuja's future actions wormed their way into his mind. It was a mysterious thing, his minions asking personal questions to him. With the powers he had gained in Heaven and Hell, Mateus would have easily banished Kuja out of existence as quickly as he was brought back. Though Kuja knew this, it was a wonder as to why he would so willingly ask a question which could have gotten his existence erased. However, he banished his thoughts about the matter and sat on his throne in complete silence, contemplating about his own future actions in peace...


	7. Backlash

_Did we pursue our dreams when all those around us thought we were chasing illusions?_

"I believe that we should depart immediately, before Ultimecia and her associates are to locate the next crystal before we do. We are at a disadvantage, and hopefully gain the upper-hand soon enough. Considering that there is only one crystal to obtain, that will put us at an equal position with her - and from there we Warriors of Light shall claim the other two and bring balance back to your individual worlds... as well as return you all home. We can share our introductions as we make haste to the next world. Come, we shouldn't arouse suspicion..."

The Warrior of Light made his way around the back of the Besaid Temple and held up his Excalibur up to his forehead to form the gateway to the world of 'XII'. Again, the gateway was in a design with strange symbols and swirls, crafted from a material similar to marble, and had an emblem behind the numerals - this time of an armored figure holding two blades within their grasp. With nobody around, the blessed Light Warrior marched through the gateway and disappeared from the group's view. The public weren't to know about their origins and mysterious magic and sorcery they held. One by one, the party made their way around the Temple and through the gateway. The newcomer, Tidus, was having second thoughts about telling Yuna about his sudden leave - but knowing her like he did, the Star Player of the Zanarkand Abes knew she would understand that he had gone off on some crazy adventure again. Trailing along at the back of the line of Light Warriors, he noticed a young lady with green hair and a red outfit with a flower design on it, and the same could be said for her shoes.

"Uhh, hey there. Is it always like this, all talking and not much action?"

"I'm not really sure myself. I've only just joined these people. I'm Terra, by the way. What's your name?"

"Heh, I'm Tidus - Star Player of the Zanarkand Abes at your service!"

"... Zanarkand... Abes..?"

"- You could try explaining a little more before you go and add things we have no idea about... The name's Cloud, by the way."

The sudden voice came from a male in black clothing, spikey yellow hair and had a big sword on his back, tilting his head towards them both. Almost instantly, Tidus' attention was brought towards the large sword on this male's back, and then turned towards his hair. Both of these features were detracting him for the moment, until he found the words to say.

"... Yeah... Uhh, alright. The Zanarkand Abes the best Blitzball Team around 2000 years ago. So you're called Cloud? That's a plain name, huh?"

"It's not like I had a choice."

"That's true... And what's with the sword?"

"... Just think of it as a family, that they are all individual pieces that build a greater force."

"Wait... That sword can separate into multiple blades...? Seriously?! Do you think I can use one sometime?"

"Not a chance."

"Ugh... Spoil sport..."

Passing through the marble-like structure, the party of six appeared in a desert during the fall of violent rain. Certain caverns and areas afar were flooding, and in the distance was a large city with a gate on the outside - of which was most probably used to keep outsiders away who have no business there, as well as keeping riots, rebels, and terrorists away. It was pretty much a plain view with nothing interesting going on. Raising the Excalibur back to his forehead, the portal was closed and they formed around the Warrior of Light. Awaiting their briefing, Zidane and Tidus were seen conversing in the distance until they, too, joined the circle. The usual solid look upon the Warrior of Light's face was clearly visible as he turned to see his comrades. They were dedicated to their cause and saw the Light Warrior as their leader, with King Cecil Harvey as the next. Cecil himself kept to himself for the moment as he continued to reflect upon the cause of his brother's sudden appearance and alliance with Ultimecia. Everything was slowly but surely becoming clearer, but as of this time, there was not enough information to provide him with the answer.

"Alright. I have reason to believe that up ahead is the royal city of Rabanastre - the location of the next and final crystal that we can obtain. Considering this is the last to be collected, we must not let our guard down - that sorceress will no doubt try and claim it for herself. I am unsure where the crystal is, but hopefully we can find it - even in the city is at a colossal size. Come, we must journey on..."

"... You're too late, Warriors of the Light."

This moment turned into shock for the older party members as a very familiar voice came from behind the Warrior of Light, as a figure in black leather, black gloves and boots, brown belts, and carrying a gunblade came up a slope. The attention of Cecil, Cloud, and Zidane were taken by Squall Leonhart's first appearance after his betrayal of the party and switching sides for an unknown cause. They almost wanted to call out to him as their hearts begun to race like a Chocobo running away from a Chocobo Eater, due to the fact they places so much trust in him and held him close as a friend. Everything was torn away, and left nothing but a desire to beat the answers out of him - except there was another emotion wanting to stand down and not lay a finger on him. The atmosphere was as clear as Castle Baron on a sunny day, and this soon became known to both Terra and Tidus. It was a mysterious one, since they knew not of Squall's relationship with the party before their arrival. There was much to inform them on. Tilting his head, the Warrior of Light's white hair flowed and placed itself on the left side of his neck.

"Late? What do you mean, Leonhart?"

"Ultimecia has already set off on her journey to acquire the crystal a while ago. I doubt you will be able to claim it now. She has also given me the choice of either going with her, or lay in wait for you to arrive..."

"... Then if it's a duel you are looking for, then I accept."

Turning around fully to see his opponent, the Warrior of Light aimed his words towards the party members who stood in suspense. They wanted to say so much, but they also knew they had no time to lose.

"Do not wait for me, just find the crystal. That is all we need. Do not question yourselves or doubt your ability to find it... Now go!"

The group nodded towards their leader and quickly dashed off into the distance, towards the large city as the rain came pouring down from the heavens. As much as the original party members wanted to stay and demand answers from Squall, they knew there was a more important matter at hand. He could wait. Sensing that the others had fled from them, it was time for the two warriors to have time to themselves. There were so many questions and answers that needed to be shared, and it was at this specific point in time that they could finally be sent to one another. This world seemed peaceful, regardless of the oncoming storm in the Giza Plains, and time seemed to halt for the two young men who stood opposite to one another, facing one another with seemingly emotionless faces. The raindrops continuously hit the Warrior of Light's dark blue armor, and soaked both of their clothing. It was as if the rain would never end, and with it, their moment would be like an eternity. No matter how long it took, the two men gazed into one another's eyes, whilst only being at least 5 meters apart. It was now the time to talk.

"Leonhart. Why did you betray us, and join Ultimecia's cause? I thought you wanted to return back to your homeland, that was the reason you wanted to join the fight - wasn't it?"

"...Hmph... Haven't you figured it out already? For someone who's a legendary warrior destined to save the world from darkness, you sure seem like you should be talking to a wall than to me. Ultimecia has the ability to take memories of those who she wishes, and craft them into living replicas of the original. She also has the ability to give you back memories of which she takes away... That is why I joined her cause."

"... To regain back your long lost memories?"

"Correct. I now remember everything that she took away from me, and for that, I am grateful. But why should I just stop at that, when she can give me everything I personally desire? All we need is the crystals, and the very wall of reality will begin to crack. And over time, that wound will slowly get bigger, continuously spanning over larger areas - throughout time and space... and then reality itself. If you're so smart, tell me what happens if that wound on the wall of reality were to break..."

"... If that were to happen, then reality itself will break apart, plunging the world into a fantasy world of nightmare and evil. A world being Ultimecia's final fantasy - if that really is her end goal."

"Correct again. And for that world, she needs a knight - and that is me. And in that world, she and I will rule over light, darkness, infinite life, and eternity. If you intend to harm her and shatter her dream, then you must go through me."

"You share the same goal because she has corrupted your mind. If what it takes to bring you back is to defeat you, then I will. However... If that is not enough, and everything I do to cleanse your mind was all in vein... then I will do what I must to see that you will no longer interfere in our battle against her..."

The Warrior of Light swiftly moved his right foot backward a few inches, and moved it slightly so that it was horizontal - in comparison to his left facing forward. Taking up his battle stance, he placed his blue and golden shield over the left side of his chest, and brought his Excalibur down to his right side, almost mirroring what he did with his feet. As these moments passed, it was as if the rain had stopped completely, when in truth it was coming down even harder on them. It just showed that their concentration towards one another was so much that nothing else mattered, that is was just them and them alone. The SeeD brought his left arm over his body and placed his hand over the hilt of his gunblade, mirroring his other hand's position on it. Now it was all about who would make the first move out of the two. It was an intense moment for the two of them as they were finally in their own zone, a zone of which they could feel their own opponent's aura.

"... You'll try, Warrior of Light... But in the end, my desire is that of a lion!"

An unexpected comment threw the Warrior of Light off-guard for a single moment, which allowed Leonhart to swiftly make his way forward and bring his blade diagonally upward towards the left. Unable to do anything at this moment, all the blessed warrior could do was watch as the speed of his former comrade's attack left him stunned. The sight of blood was clear on the ground, and soon the rain mixed with it - turning the sand into a very light red color. Flung towards the ground, the Warrior of Light spun 180 degrees and dropped down into a small puddle of water. His reflection showed that the blood was coming from his own face, and soon the image in the puddle turned into some kind of crimson devil. With his image turning foul with the blood from his face falling into it, the Warrior of Light pulled himself up onto his knees only to find the black boots of Leonhart in his sight. Even though Squall was standing above him, all he was able to think about was the fact that he never bled before until recently. This was the second time in his entire life, but this was more serious than a simple cut. The image he saw in the puddle remained in his mind's eye as he gazed into the deep darkness of Squall's boots. The large cut came across his face, starting from the bottom of his left cheek, and sliced along his face until it met the top right of his forehead. He was more than lucky, since he could have quite easily have lost his eyesight if the SeeD would have raised his blade slightly higher when he slashed his face. It was one of the most violent attacks he had come across, and he was unsure if this event would scar him physically and mentally. The Warrior of Light was even questioning his own skills.

"... Perhaps I should just end this, and ease your suffering here, Warrior of Light. After all, you can't even block a simple strike, so what good are you to the world?"

The SeeD brought his blood-stained gunblade down towards the Warrior of Light's head and allowed his blood to stain his white hair and helmet for a minor insult. Expecting more of a reaction than panting, he looked down at the blessed knight on his knees, almost like a helpless dog wanting to be put out of it's misery. From the corner of his eye, Squall noticed the Excalibur was far out of the reach of his foe, and found the ignorance to grin to himself.

"... No reaction? Hmph, that's just typical... React to this, then."

Instantly, the boot who the Warrior of Light saw came towards him, narrowly missing his face and kicking him in his stomach. The impact was not as hurtful considering he was wearing armor, but it did have some power behind it. Seemingly thrown away from the brown-haired young man, the blessed knight was flung backward, and toppled over into the ground once more. His cape was nothing but torn and in tatters, not to mention stained in both blood and dirt - and the same applied for his armor. His helmet also sustained damage, of which the left horn broke off from the impact when he was flung backward. The white-haired man of legend slowly pulled his head out from another small puddle and eventually found the strength to pull himself back to his feet, almost staggering and falling back down once he got there. With his back turned on Leonhart, it was unknown as to what kind of expression was on his face. For all his opponent knew, he could be smiling, laughing, crying, or even in anger. Bowing down his head, the Warrior of Light slowly turned around. The moment he brought his head back up to see into Leonhart's eyes, the intimidating sight of what appeared to be a crimson devil came into the SeeD's view. The face of his opponent was literally covered in blood, with almost no signs of his skin. His flesh wound was still visible, since it was more darker than the rest of his face, and his piercing eyes seemed to shatter right through Squall's confident-now-intimidated eyes.

"... You said 'what good was I for'... I shall provide you the answer to that..."

Reaching over, the blessed knight took up his Excalibur from the dirt and pointed it directly at Squall.

"Hope..."

He took up his battle position once more, by moving his right foot backward a few inches and placing it horizontally - in opposite to his left.

"Dreams..."

Strengthening his grip on both his shield and his blade, the Warrior of Light moved his dark blue and golden shield over the left side of his chest.

"Light..."

His blade was soon back in the same position as before, and he slightly bowed his head a little to prevent the rain from going near his eyes.

"... And the future."

The Warrior of Light was finally ready for the fight. There wouldn't be any more cheap tactics used, and there will certainly not be a loss by the blessed knight for as long as he fights for what he believes in.

Back in the royal city of Rabanstre, the party had begun searching for the crystal. It was unknown as to what it looked like, but never the less, they needed to find it - no matter what the cost. With five people on the job, searching for the crystal should not be a problem. Throughout their time there, the party had gotten leads, but none turned out to be true. They were even desperate enough as to go to the markets. They had agreed to meet back at the centre of the city after 20 minutes, and soon enough, they came back like rats to a sewer. Cloud was the first to gain some insight, and shared it with the rest of the party. The rest would soon follow in the same layout, followed by Cecil, Terra, Zidane, and finally Tidus.

"... I've been hearing about a 'Queen of Dalmasca' coming here on a visit with a 'Basch Fon Ronsenberg', or something like that... or perhaps she's just gotten back from a trip..."

"I must admit, I have also heared about a visit from a queen. Unfortunately I was unable to acquire her name..."

"A kind gentleman told me that her name was 'Lady Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca', which was a bit hard to pronounce the first time."

"- And I found out she is already here, and rumour has it that she was carrying a shining object."

"No doubt that's what we're here to check out, huh?"

The king of Baron looked at the party, satisfied and pleased with what they had found out. They were slowly becoming something similar to a miniature family, and slowly but surely they all felt the same way. In the future, they would all face challenges putting that to the test. A smile was visible on his light blue lips, and his eyes showed that he was indeed pleased with them. A sudden comment came from Terra's direction.

"... So we know who to look for, but the problem is where she is right now..."

"You're right... Zidane, did you hear anything else?"

"Sorry, I can't help you out there, Cecil..."

Hoping for an answer, he turned towards Cloud, and then to Tidus - who both gave the indication that they didn't have a clue. As usual Cloud stood with his arms folded and leaned up against the wall, whilst the rest of the party stood in the same manor. The star player of the Zanarkand Abes sighed as he rubbed the back of his head with disappointment, but he wasn't about to give up hope yet.

"Hey guys, how about we just scout around for her, huh? If this 'Ashelia' is here in the city, then no doubt she's probably in a building somewhere. Afterall, she is royalty - and let's be honet, I think she'd rather be in a building than be out here getting herself wet-through, huh?"

Turning his head, Cloud's eyes met with Tidus who continuously looked at everybody to try and get a reaction.

"That's not a bad idea, Tidus..."

Terra also decided to comment on Tidus' sugestion, and soon to be followed by Cecil himself.

"I think Tidus is right. She is royalty, afterall."

"I agree. If we begin a search for her, we should stick together from now on. We may stray further from one another, when all we need to do is find somewhere that looks like it may be heavily protected. Personally, I should know... Yes, I am a King, Tidus, Terra, but let's not get ourselves caught in too much conversation - and let us find the Queen of Dalmasca."

As the warriors of light searched for the Queen of Dalmasca, and the Warrior of Light begun to fight against his former comrade, Squall Leonhart, the dark realm of which the palace containing the Emperor and his generals of his army of heaven and hell stood silently - lit with candles. The entire palace itself was the highest land object on the face of this planet, resting itself on the top of a mountain sealed off by caverns leading down to the depths of hell. As the 24-year old Kuja made his way out of the throne room, he was met by those who had previously been there, waiting at the bottom of the corridor by a large iron gate, and two other corridors on either side of it. Leaning up against the wall, Sephiroth's eyes met his as he gracefully made his way past him towards the others. The Cloud of Darkness was seeminly looking out of a giant stained-glass window, and Exdeath and Garland were over by the gate itself. It was a strange mix of colors in the corridor at this time, shades of blue, black, purple, white, red, and even yellow. Being the first to see him, the Ex-SOLDIER posed a question to his partner.

"Kuja... Has the Emperor given us another mission, or do we just wait around for him to make up his mind again?"

"He requested nothing of us, so I believe you may do what you like for the time being."

"... And what about the other matter? Did he tell you why he wants us to do his dirty work?"

"... I wouldn't normally do this, considdering my existance is in jeopardy... But all he told me was that he just wants peace."

"Hmph..."

There was nothing that could be said from Sephiroth. The thought of this was strange, and the fact that he was making his generals do mess their own hands with his filth was not the thing he would do. But because Emperor Mateus held their fates in his hand, they had no choice. Hearing this, the giant figure of Garland slowly made his way over towards the Genome - carrying his collossal blade within his huge hands. Stopping a few paces away from him, the fallen knight continued on from where Sephiroth left off.

"So his majesty doesn't want us to do anything at the moment? I don't see why he has allowed us to do such a thing... It is completely illogical. There are only a select few worlds left that need to be relinquished for the Emperor's vision of a complete empire of order to become true. It may seem strange that he has done this... I believe he may be testing us to act on our own for a change..."

Stepping in, the embodiment of darkness floated towards the small group, soon to include the evil warlock.

"This may prove to be true... We will go and take care of the rest of the worlds..."

"I believe Garland speaks the truth, even though it is nothing more than a suggestion. I shall accompany the Cloud of Darkness, uniting our Voids to erase those foolish mortals... Hahaha!!"

Fading away just as the Cloud of Darkness had, Exdeath left with a sinister laugh, leaving the three most trusted generals the Emperor had in his empire of heaven and hell. As Kuja's eyes reverted from the warlock's final position, they moved towards the two remaining generals of the empire left within his presence. It was ironic that both Sephiroth and Garland had once fought and warriors, but fell from grace and into the darkness.

"Well I feel that I must go too... Garland, will you accompany me to the world of 'XII'?"

"... I don't see any reason not to..."

"Let us play a final requiem for the residence of that world!"

Fading away, Kuja left with a slight chuckle - leaving Garland and Sephiroth alone for a minute or so. As the two stood there in the silence and in the candle light of the palace, the two fallen soldiers stared at one another for a brief second. It was almost as if they were somehow connecting with one another in some way, until Sephiroth broke the silence at atmosphere.

"... I know what you are trying to accomplish..."

"Hmm? I don't know what you are talking about, Sephiroth. Make your words more clear."

"What I mean is that... I know your true goal."

"... I do not know what you are talking about."

"... Hehehe... Of course you don't."

Taking a long hard stare at the Ex-SOLDIER, the fallen knight of Cornelia faded away, leaving Sephiroth leaning up against the wall with his arms folded in the candle light. Seconds went by as he smiled to himself. Eventually, he moved away from the wall and made his way through the large gate, and faded into the darkness past the gate. His footsteps slowly became inaudible, and all that remained was the sound of him chuckling to himself.

"... The endless cycle... The one who granted you life eternal... Chaos."

As everything was slowly coming to a close, all that remained within the palace was the Emperor sat on his serpent-shaped throne. For the moment, all that remained on his mind was the description of the two warriors of which were captured by the embodiment of darkness and the Ex-SOLDIER. A weapons master and a mime. These two rebels were being held prisoner far below the palace, down into the caverns of which surrounded it, linking the palace to hell. Within a certain area were cells filled with bodies from the time the devil himself rules hell, leaving those who were trapped within to rot, decay, and die within the nightmare called 'hell'. Ever since the Emperor ruled over hell, he cared not about those already in it, and used it to keep those who posed a threat to his perfect empire of unity between heaven and hell at bay. Within the furthest depths was a large cell of iron bars and sharp blade-like crystals surrounding the area. This was where they were being held prisoner. Upon inspection, nothing much could be seen, except for the bars and crystals surrounding the cell. From inside, a voice spoke out to the other being kept in confinement.

"... 'A belief among people is that the crystals were used to connect with the planet, others to summon ancient beasts of legend, some for contact, and few to achieve flight and travel. Even though these fables were recorded in ancient history and passed down in stories, an unmarked story goes forgotten within the mists of time, space, and existence as we know it. A story that will be crafted within the distant future. When all crystals are gathered, the doorway to other worlds will be opened, and the power of the gods will be at your disposal. It was through this very fear that the crystals were separated and spread across the Worlds of Fantasy'... That was what was written upon a stone tablet Mateus discovered when he united both heaven and hell after his death... The Emperor is attempting to find and recover these crystals - and destroy them, but his true goal remains unclear. I am still unsure whether his new generals are from this world, heaven, hell, or the other worlds - such as yourself, Bartz... "


End file.
